How to Entertain Yourself 101: Warehouse13 Style
by kendralynora
Summary: The team gets themselves into trouble while playing around in the Warehouse unsupervised. While in their conundrum, HG struggles with her intentions of trying to destroy the world. Hinting towards Myka/HG whilst staying true to the cannon of the show.
1. Lecture I: Movies & Hassling Your Friend

How to Entertain Yourself 101: Warehouse 13 Style

Lecture I: Movies & Hassling Your Friends

"Inconceivable," Pete and Claudia said in sync with the voice from the TV smiling at each other.

"Odd; in all my years I've never thought that the word _Inconceivable_ could be funny," HG smirked at the whole situation she found herself in.

Pete, sitting in the chair next to the couch which HG and Myka were sharing, shoveled popcorn into his mouth while responding, "Yah, now you can see all the awesome stuff you missed out on while living in the horse and buggy age."

"This story is in the horse and buggy age," she rebutted.

"Technically it's in the present 'cause the kid's grandpa is reading the story to him, referring to back then," Pete argued back with popcorn falling out of his mouth.

"Dude seriously major popcorn spillage happening around this general area," Claudia said while she made circular motions with her hand around her own face. Pete responded to her by opening his mouth to show the mashed up food inside.

"Cute," Claudia stuck her tongue out at him from the table situated behind the girls.

"Is that chatter I'm hearing from a certain young lady who is supposed to be undoing whatever she did to the Farnsworth?" Artie called from the sunroom.

"Yah dude I know I'm almost done."

"Almost is not done, done is done. You know I specifically told you no talking until…"

"Yah, yah, la-la-la, chill, not talking, got it." Claudia interrupted him.

"You got in trouble," Pete said in a na-na-na-na-na tone. Claudia threw a waded up wire at him, but missed by a long shot.

HG smiled at the duo through the reflection in the TV screen. "So Myka this is one of your top three ranked movies, I can honestly say that you're kind of a romantic at heart, aren't you?"

"Yah, hum, no, what?" Myka slurred from the seat next to her, eyes barley open.

"Oh yes! Half awake Myka," Pete cheered then looked at Claudia, "Zombie Myka!" Claudia mouths along with Pete.

"No, I'm not a zombie," Myka groaned.

HG, now very intrigued asked, "What is a Zombie Myka?"

"It's nothing, no Zombie, no brains no… nothing, I hate you all," Myka barley got the words out, her eyes struggled to open, but instead were franticly blinking, no more like twitching. Everyone grinned at her expense.

HG was about to say something to her dear friends defense but was stopped by Pete motioning silence with his finger to his lips. HG decided to oblige for the sake of fun.

"No, no you don't need a zombie plan, I'm gonna, no you, you are in your house…room with a thing… a, that thing, gun yah gun, gun zombie gun. Boom scatter, impact, brain, wall, shut up Pete." Myka desperately tried to make sense but failed; creating an incoherent mess of words.

Claudia got out of her chair and placed a pillow on HG's lap.

"Ok Myka, if you can stay upright; free Twizzlers for a month."

"No problem, Pete," she accepted the challenge in her zombie groan. Just as the words came out of her mouth Claudia gave her a little nudge from behind the couch, and she dropped, head first, into the pillow on HG's lap and did not budge after the plummet. The, still conscious, trio exploded in laughter.

"And that was moany-groany Zombie Myka," Pete announced for HG's benefit.

"Oh Darling," HG said to Myka as she lovingly wiped her sleeping friend's curls out of her face and tucked them behind her ear. "What am I ever going to do with you?" she smiled while resting her hand on Myka's back to rub it softly.

Claudia went around the couch and grabbed up Myka's feet and put them gently on the cushion next to her. Then Claudia and Pete exchanged mischievous glances with one another.

"Oh no, what are you two thinking?" HG asked.

"Stickers," They both said together.

"Ah, talking, camaraderie, fun, this is what I hear. I should not be hearing this," Artie yelled again from the other room.

"Yup, still working on it Artie"

"Do I need to move you to another room?"

"No, it's fine, cool," Claudia ran back to her spot at the table. "See I'm working," She picked up her tools and started clanging them randomly against her Farnsworth.

"Not stickers again," Myka moaned as she turned her body to face the back of the couch to burry her face into HG's stomach and sandwich her arms between HG's back and the sofa, to hide as much exposed flesh from them as she could. "HG, protect me," she mumbled into her abdomen, slightly tickling it. HG just smiled and cradled her upper body to give her a sense of safety from the pair.

Pete turned to Claudia and pointed to the desk behind them; she then got up and started searching it as stealthy as she could to not catch anyone's attention, especially Artie's. HG just went back to watching the film while playing with Myka's hair; she was actually enjoying the story very much.

Claudia had no luck finding stickers, but she did find pre-stick stamps. "Pete," she whispered. He turned his head to see her, "now we can mail her." Pete showed his approval with a double thumbs up. She came creeping back to situate herself behind the couch. HG saw Claudia's refection behind them in the TV screen but decided to just let her do it; it was all quite amusing to her anyway. Claudia unpeeled a stamp and was just about to stick it on an exposed part of Myka's arm that she failed to hide behind HG's back.

"You better not be wasting my stamps," Leena said in a stern but at the same time still warm voice, as she entered the room, mug in hand.

Claudia's eyes grew wide; she put the stamp back on the booklet and shoved them back in the drawer that she had found them in and sat back down at the table.

Leena smiled at the girl and proceeded towards the group. "Hey, you come to join us Leena?" Pete asked in a welcoming voice.

"No, I'm actually on my way out to meet a friend for a late dinner in town. I just thought I'd make a cup of coffee for Myka before I left, she appears to be in need of one." She put the mug on the table in front of the incapacitated woman, HG thanked her on Myka's behalf, and then she left trough the front door. The three of them bid her farewell.

HG looked down at the ball of curls on her lap that her fingers were intertwined in, and started brushing them back in search for Myka's face; luckily she could feel Myka's warm breaths on her own stomach to give her a reference of where to look. "Sweetie wake up, there's a cup of hot coffee here waiting for you." She finally found her face. "Hey," she cupped her chin with her index finger, "you still alive?"

Myka squinted her greens up at HG and mustered up a smile, "Coffee? Warm temperature Coffee?"

"Yes, oh wait, isn't it warm temperature brains you're wanting?" HG teased.

"Oh!" Claudia howled, "Good one HG," she said with surprise and delight as she got up to high-five her. Maybe there was hope for this 150-year-old Brit after all, she thought.

"Zombie Myka!" Yelled the gang.

"Don't make me come in there!" Artie called in annoyance. Claudia made an, I'm-in-deep-dodo-face, and went back to her project.

"You're turning into one of them," Myka said, now eyes completely open, looking up at HG.

"Just blame it on peer pressure, that's what I always do," Pete retorted for her.

"Come on, up you go," HG said while gently putting Myka into an upright position. HG grabbed the mug off the coffee table and handed it over to her. Myka leaned up on HG so she did not fall over while attempting to wake herself up. HG just smiled and welcomed the woman's unbroken body contact. "Ok, so what's happening now? Is the stable boy a pirate now? And how did they get to this fire forest?" HG gestured towards the TV.

Artie entered the room, "Claudia, are we finished yet?"

"Ah, yah, well almost, like I said before, K chill don't go having a hernia on me or anything."

"You know I tell you time and times again, don't tamper with anything, and what do you do? You…"

"Artie, Artie," Pete and Myka swooped in to Claudia's rescue.

"She's almost done," Pete continued.

"Yah and she won't do it again," Myka finished.

"You better not," Artie pointed to Claudia where she shrank under his finger.

"Yah got it man." She threw her hands up in surrender.

Artie pushed his glasses up and walked into the kitchen, as Claudia let out a long exhalation. "Wow," she mouthed to herself.

"Maybe we should just save this movie for another night," Myka suggested, "no one is really paying any attention, or if they are they aren't paying enough attention due to all these distractions." She looked to HG and smiled, where she got a gentle head knock in response.

"Second," Pete put up his hand, "Let's do something that actually gets us away from Senor Wilson."

"Who?" Myka asked while making a funny confused face.

"You know Mr. Wilson, like as in, _Hey Mr. Wilson!_" Myka still gave the confused face but put a, you're-an-idiot-look on top of it. "_Dennis The Menace_! Come on people!"

"Ok…?" Myka tried to make sense of her partner.

"Mr. Wilson is the grumpy old man in _Dennis The Menace,_ grumpy like anther old man we know."

"Oh," Myka and Claudia said in understanding.

"That was lame dude."

"I'm going to have to agree with my beloved redheaded companion on that one."

"Oh come on, it was a great personification."

"Simile," HG and Myka corrected him.

"Whatever!"

"No you're right Pete that was a good comparison, I thought it amusing," HG assured him.

"Thanks HG. See she gets it and… wait a minute, you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Not in the slightest darling," she teased. Myka leaned closer into HG as she laughed. HG caught a strong whiff of her coffee, "oh that smells good," she said as she breathed in more of the sent.

"Want some?" Myka offered.

"That would be lovely, thank you," she took the cup and sipped.

"Can I have some too?"

"No Pete I don't want your cooties!"

"But you'll take hers?"

"Yup."

HG smiled, as she assumed that cooties were some sort of slang for germs; she then offered Myka her cup back and thanked her again, while making the space between them as minute as possible. She didn't know why exactly she did that, to bother Pete or just because she wanted to. Myka slipped her hands around the cup overlapping HG's fingertips with her own. HG took the opportunity to hold her hands on the mug a few seconds longer than necessary until she slipped them out from under hers, but not before making eye contact with the other woman first.

Pete about to say something to break their sensual stare, not that he knew what to say, was cut off by Claudia, "Success! Done and done. You hear that Artie?" the girl yelled over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

"Yah, yah good," muffles were heard from the kitchen.

"Yah," Claudia yelped in excitement as she jumped the back of the couch to squeeze her way in between Myka and the armrest. "So, dudes what are we gonna do?"

"Claud why do I have the feeling that you've already got an activity planned out for us?" Myka smiled looking to her other side.

"Oh Myka you know me so well," She slapped her hand to her heat. "Group huddle!" Pete and Myka leaned in to hear what the girl had in mind. Myka looked back noticing a missing person in the group; she then leaned back into HG and linked arms with her to yank her in. They both laughed. "Ok you guys have to keep this on the hush-hush, we can't let anyone get onto us especially our _Mr. Wilson_" Claudia threw on air quotes to bug Pete.

"Make fun all you want, it was a great onomatopoeia."

"Simile," They all corrected him.

"Whatever, it's not my fault that all your cool meters are running on low so you can't distingue between awesomeness and… lameness..ess" He cocked his head in confusion over his word choice.

"Sure Pete," Claudia continued, "Anyway, let's meet at the Warehouse at," she checked her watch, "twenty hundred hours, and make sure you're all wearing comfy clothes. BTW when I say meet at the warehouse I really mean meet at the car in five, so then we'll all arrive at the Warehouse at twenty hundred, 'cause it would be unnecessary to all take separate vehicles and yah…".

"But what are we going to do there?" Pete asked.

"I'll show you when we get there," she nudged him, "So everyone in?"

Pete pondered out loud, "A surprise activity…"

"At the Warehouse," Claudia added in.

"At the Warehouse," He repeated, "Ah yah, so totally in. "Hay, hay," the two fist-pounded it.

Myka looked at HG on her other side and asked her without words if she was in, almost waiting for an approval for herself to accept the offer. HG smiled and nodded, Myka turned back towards the others and said, "Yah we're in."

"Ok and Break," Claudia clapped and the gang disbursed towards the stairs, Myka moved a little bit slower than the rest, but HG helped her out when she noticed she was still in a tiered wobbly state.

Artie entered the room, "Hey where are you guys off to in such a hurry?" he asked.

Everyone started talking over one in other saying something about going for a drive, ice cream was mentioned, stars and the night sky too.

"Ok, ok, just stop talking and go." He shooed his hands at them.

They all made a breakaway for the stairs.

Oow, popcorn, Artie sat down on the couch, picked up the bowl and started watching the movie, "Oh, I love this movie." He sat there content and happy to have the Inn emptied of everyone. One by one the team came down the stairs, very loudly, and out the door, with sweaters and jackets in their hands, until finally Myka was the last one out. She said a quick goodbye to Artie and closed the door behind her. "Finally," he said to himself throwing his legs up one the table, "No pesky kids to bug me."


	2. Lecture II: Kill Your Friends

Lecture II: Kill Your Friends

They were all gathered in the office at the Warehouse waiting on Claudia.

"Come on Claud we're all dyeing out here," Pete called.

"Coming, Coming," she entered the room with a big sac over her shoulder, "here!"

"Wow Claud, you need some help there?" Myka offered.

"Wha, no this big thang? Got it covered," she drops it on the floor in front of them.

"Oh Santa I want a dirt bike and a black and red kite, and a real life mutant seahorse."

"Mutant seahorse, Pete, really?" Myka questioned his sanity.

"So what's in the sac Claudia?"

"Well thank you for asking HG, I'd be honored to show you, and you too Myka."

"Hey what? What about me?" The three girls turned and stared at him, "Ok, ok I get your point." He motioned to Claudia to continue.

Claudia reached into the bag, "laser tag," she yelled while pulling a gun and vest set out.

"Shut up! We get to play laser tag?" Pete cheered in disbelief as he and Myka high-tened.

"In the Warehouse too," Myka added excitedly. "Wait," her tone changed," is this a good idea?"

"We'll be carful not to touch anything," Pete reassured his partner. "Come on Myka?" he pleaded.

"Ok, Ok but we have to be carful and Artie must never know."

"Yes," Pete and Claudia rooted.

"Um I don't want to sound like the Sherlock without a clue here, but may someone mind explaining what laser tag is?"

They all just turned to HG and smiled, "all you need to know our little tea drinking Victorian, is that your life in not complete without playing a game of laser tag," Pete explained.

"K everyone grab a vest and put it on," Claudia instructed. They all complied and took one. The vests were thin, no thicker than a piece of felt, with silver sensors around it. The guns were unattached, but the set included a leg holster if so desired to use it.

"Dude did you make these yourself?" asked Pete as he examined his more closely.

"Ah sorta, I just threw some thangs together, you know."

"Nice!" he complemented, "what's the range on these bad boys?" He gestured with his gun.

"Fifteen meters."

"Sweet," Pete and Myka replied in awe.

HG figured out exactly what it was in a matter of seconds from getting her gear. It was a training simulator designed to replicate firearms in battle. "Oh this is going to be fun," she said examining her weapon in hand with a slightly sinister smile. Pete and Claudia looked a little freaked out, were Myka was a lot more intrigued towards the wild primal look in HG's eyes.

"Ok than," Claudia said quickly, "we need to establish the boundaries, I was thinking Aisle 172 to 305, including the _Edison _section, but not the _Early 17__th__ century poetry_ section, oh and that small section between 232 and 250 is off limits for the two aisle that perimeter around the _Dark Vault_. Sound good? Does everyone have that?"

"Yes," Myka nodded.

"No. What?" Pete asked scratching his head.

"Pete what's so hard to remember about that?" Myka asked annoyed.

"She said like five hundred things just there."

"Dud the only person who should be having any trouble with this is HG and that's just because she's less familiar with the Warehouse,"

"Actually Claudia I think I've got it. 172 to 305, so starting at World War _II_ and ending with the _King Henrys_. _Edison_ in, _poetry _out, no-go at two aisles around the _Dark vault_ at the _bottom of the Atlantic Ocean_ section which then turns into the beginning of the _Greek mythology_ section, and I believe that a small part of the _Jack the Ripper_ area is within those parameters as well.

"And technically there is one and a half shelves of _geisha_ artifacts within that area too," Myka added.

"Oh is there? I did not know that," HG smiled back at her.

"Oh super, geisha!" Pete mocked the two women.

"So free-for-all or teams?" Claudia asked while ignoring Pete.

"Free-for-all," HG said at the same time Myka had said, "Teams." Myka looked at HG whom seemed not to have a care that they had picked opposite.

"Ok, a vote for each. Pete?"

"Um… teams."

"Ok I was gonna say free-for-all, but that doesn't help any," Claudia admitted.

"No, I change my vote," Myka said while eyeing HG, "free-for-all." She said with a big dose of competitive angst to it. HG smiled that sinister smile back at her and slipped out the office door looking back as to say, come and get me.

"Ok, I guess we're going then," said Claudia as she followed Myka. Already after HG, out of the office with Pete close on her heels.

Pete skulked the isles quietly for a while until he stated talking to himself, "Now was poetry in, or out? Something about geisha and a world war, is that the Gooery? Oh I'm screwed."

Claudia pulled out a tracking receiver from her pocket and looked at the screen, "now were are you guys?" she picked the green dot on the screen knowing that it was Pete, "I'm not cheating I'm giving myself a leg up," She convinced herself, "I'm coming for you Peter," She put her head back and let out a load evil laugh knowing that the others were too faraway to hear it.

Myka had not seen any sign of HG for about ten aisles now. Myka had to admit that the woman was good at evading her, but she refused to admit defeat, even if somehow the hunter had become the hunted at this point, she would fight to the death… laser tag death that is.

Claudia hid beside a big crate waiting for Pete to cross by the aisle so she could get the drop on him. "Seriously dude," she whispered to herself, "Where are you going? Oh man Pete you really don't listen that well, do you?"

"No, this is the WWII section so I can't go any further," Pete said to himself while turning around, but I can go here, I think.

"Huh, maybe he does listen." Claudia eyeing her little screen, 'yes, yes, come back this way. Oh I so got you man," she smiled.

HG had Myka in her crosshair but didn't take the shot, instead she left her eagle's nest on top of a stack of crates about two meters up and proceeded to slink down, trying to make as little noise as possible on her way to the ground.

Myka heard faint creaking from the far end of the aisle that she was standing in, so she decided to head towards it to investigate.

"Freeze," Claudia yelled as she jumped out of her hiding position in front of Pete.

"Dude where did you even come from?"

"Over there," she gestured with her head.

"Wow, like ninja."

"Yup, I'm awesome, but a yah, so I'm gonna shoot you now K?"

"Wait no, no, no if you don't shoot me we can go after the girls together. Huh?"

"I can take care of them myself."

"Can you though? I mean we are talking about Myka and the crazy-eyed-mistress-huntress-lady," He hoped his word choice was enough to spark an accurate image of HG's previous scare, in the girl's brain.

"Maybe you've got a point there." It seemed to have worked.

"Pete's got a point," he almost sang.

"Fine."

"Yah say what?" he celebrated.

"Wait, but how do I know you won't just shoot me in the back if I let you free?"

"Secret handshake?"

"Yah, Ok," They then performed a crazy multi stepped handshake. "Cool, follow me."

"Hey why do you get to lead?"

"Cause I know where to go," she threw her thumbs over her shoulders pointing back, spun around to point her indexes in the same direction, "On fourth," she yelled and ran at the same time.

"Hey yo, wait up!" He followed after.

The creaking stopped but Myka proceeded to where she thought it had originated from. She reached a pile of boxes that would have been perfect for climbing. She then smiled and shook her head when she realized that the position at the top had a perfect view of where she had just come from, "Why didn't you take the shot?" she murmured.

HG whispered in her ear, "Where would the fun in that be?" She thrust her gun into the small of Myka's back resting the weapon on one of the sensors. Myka responded by putting her hands out to her sides, gun still in hand. "You actually kept on me a lot longer then I had expected," she admitted proudly, as if to say she had picked her prey well. The woman moved in closer to press up against Myka's back; remembering that same familiar body contact that they had shared not even an hour earlier.

Myka smiled her own kind of sinister smile, "So you gonna pull the trigger before I turn this situation around on you, or what?" She then leaded back into the woman as to intensify the physical pressure between their bodies, due to her body's shift in position, HG's gun was painfully digging into her back, and she assumed it was doing the same to her opponent's stomach, but neither of them budged.

HG rested her cheek against the side of Myka's head, "I'm ready whenever you are."

Myka wiped around as fast as she could knocking the gun and HG away from her body, she moved to point her own gun on HG but once the two women found their balance HG had done the same with her weapon as well creating a stale mate. "Well I guess I only half turned the situation." They both smiled but still kept there ground.

"Myka, I hear something rolling," HG stated, "listen." A rotating marble noise echoed in her ear.

"I hear it too it sounds like it's coming from the tops of those crates", She pointed to the stack of boxes they were standing next to, "Ceasefire?"

"Ceasefire," HG agreed, both girls put her guns in their holsters.

Claudia was running while trying to secretly navigate the two of them to the girls without making her receiver to Pete, and at the same time not run into anything. Luckily the girls were close. Claudia stopped abruptly behind a stack of crates. Pete, not paying attention, ran into little Claudia and pushed her into the crates. "Dude watch where you're going," she said in an annoyed whisper.

"Sorry Claud, you ok?" he asked quietly.

"Yah, yah, I'm fine… Pete do you hear that?"

"Is that a marble?" He asked in response to the sound.

"Loose artifact!" they yelled together. They started to follow the sound, it was emanating from the tops of the crates. The two of them ran side by side with the unknown artifact until it finally gained too much speed and got ahead of them.

"Look Pete the boxes end right up there," Claudia pointed.

"Then it's going to plummet off the edge!" he said in a doomed voice. Myka and HG came around the corner at the end, both looking up, listening for the object. "Myka, you got to catch it, whatever it is."

"Yah, already on it Pete," she responded not taking her eyes off the tops of the crates.

"Myka," HG yelled pointing at the softball sized glass orb that flew off the crates into the air. Myka stepped back and jumped up to catch it, the orb fell into her hands but she lost her balance and started to fall back, where HG steps in to catch her. The orb flashed a bright blue light in Myka's hands, followed by nothing, the light, the orb, and both Myka and HG vanish right in front of Pete's and Claudia's eyes.

"And then that happened," Claudia muttered in disbelief.

"Wha…What the heck Claud?"

"Dude I don't know." She stared off into the space where the two girls had just disappeared from, "I just don't know."


	3. Lecture III: Running Through Walls

Lecture III: Running Through Walls

HG landed on the ground, back first with Myka in her arms where she quickly rolled out of her broken grip onto the floor next to her in a prayer position; she threw her head up, "Hey HG, you Ok?"

"Lovely," She rolled her head to look at her, "How's the artifact?"

Myka unclenched the cradled grip on the orb to observe it, "it doesn't appear to have any damage." The two let out a relived laugh.

"Ah," HG groaned as she grabbed her shoulder.

"You're hurt, you said you were fine," Myka crawled over and helped her sit up.

"I am fine; it's just a little bang, no worries." She looked over to Myka to reassure her that her own self diagnosis was sound; Myka's face said she had her suspicions but she kept quiet to insure that HG's façade stayed in tact.

Myka looked up to where Pete and Claudia were standing; both wearing dumbfounded expressions on their faces, while looking past the women. "Yo Pete! You just going to stand there, or are you gonna' help a few girls out?" There was no recognition from her partner or from Claudia, "Pete!" Still nothing, "Claudia?" she said slowly and unsure, again there was no response from the two. Both Myka and HG turned their heads to see if they were missing something mind blowing behind them, but there was nothing, just the many dormant artifacts resting on there proper shelves. They then turned to look at each other, both wide eyed and confused; Myka was the first to whip her head back to the pair, "Pete, Claudia!" She yelled as she picked herself up off the floor, "Come on guys, this isn't funny," she said as she ran to nudge Pete, but instead of making contact with the man, she stumbled right through him.

"Oh dear," HG said in shock, still sitting on the floor. "You," she pointed to Myka, and then to Pete, "You just…" she trailed off in thought as she stood up.

"Dude, what are we going to do?" Claudia snapped out of her trance and turned to Pete.

He forced himself out of the same head space she had just been in, "Ok yah, do, what are we going to do, we are not going to panic first of all," his own voice sounded diminutively alarmed.

Myka stepped between the two trying to get their attention, but they both carried on as if she weren't there.

"Ok, I'm going to admit; I'm a little panicked," said Claudia in a what-the-crap voice.

"No, no this is going to be fine, we just have to figure out what that orb thingy was, and what its artifacty abilities are, then we'll find the girls. And Pete and Claudia save the day!" He forced a fist punch to cover up his uneasiness.

"But we're right here Pete," Myka said in a pleading voice, almost begging him to rise above the artifacts abilities and just see her standing there in front of him.

"But what if its abilities are really bad?" Claudia asked in fear.

"Then it would've been in the dark vault, right?" he said to reassure her.

"Right, lets get to the office and find out what that artifact was." She said with a lot more confidence. The two started towards the office at a quick pace, but still trying to act in a nonchalant manner in fear of showing their concern to the other.

Myka just stood in that same spot looking at them leaving her. She felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder, "We better follow after them to see what they discover," HG gave her a little squeeze.

Myka turned to her, "yah I guess we should," she looked a little ghostly.

HG took note of her friends concern and tried to render the situation by sliding her hand to her opposite shoulder and bringing her in close for a side hug; she winced a little from her sore shoulder, but pushed through it for Myka's sake. "Come on then," she nudged her along to follow Pete's and Claudia's trail. Myka forced a smile and threw her artifact-free arm around the other woman's waist as they walked the aisles back to the office.

"_The Orb of Artemis_," Claudia read aloud off the computer screen while she pointed to a picture of the same softball-sized orb that matched the one Myka was holding in her hand.

"And what, it teleports people?" Pete asked. He stood behind her leaning up against a table where he still had a clear view of the monitor.

"No I don't think so," she scanned the monitor and pointed to an exert, "here it reads: The Orb of Artemis is said to bring the goddess out of phase with the world as the moon goes out of phase with the Earth.

"As I expected, we're out of phase with the regular world," HG murmured to herself.

"So what are you saying Claud, they're here but we just can't see them?"

"No Pete," Myka responded, "We're not _The Invisible Man_, You can't anything us."

"So you've read that one?" HG Smiled at Myka. Myka responded with a slight blush realizing she made a Wells comparison right in front of the great mind herself. It was times like that when Myka felt inadequate to call herself a peer of the famous literary genius.

"Can _they_ see _us_?" Pete asked.

"If SciFi has taught me anything over the years, yes, they should be able to see and hear us but not physically interact with the world we're in.

Oh, so it's like when the Fiddler shifted Keystone City out of phase in that one volume of_ The Flash_?"

"Yah, sure… I guess," she shrugged her shoulders, only recognizing _The Flash_ character from a few episodes of _Smallville._

"Myka! HG! Don't worry we're going to get you guys back," Pete yelled at a significantly slow pace.

"Dude; out of phase, not def."

"Oh yah, Right, I know; like Keystone," He shifted his thought, "Ok, so the moon eh?" He pondered orally, "So if the orb is out of phase then the moon is too?"

"I'm not sure,' she confessed, "What is the phase of the moon right now?"

"It's the 27th day of the lunar cycle, the moon is in its 2nd day of waning crescent," HG responded.

"What?" Myka looked at her in complete awe for knowing something that would have been common knowledge back in her day, but now was completely forgotten by the inhabitance of the 21st century, herself included.

"What?" HG looked back at her with a smile. Myka reciprocated a smirk back at her and shook her head.

"Got it," Claudia pointed to a lunar calendar that she found on the web, "oh dude not good," she examined it more closely.

"What, what's not good?" Pete asked in concern.

"Ok, so I'm assuming here that since there is technically a possibility for a bit of moon to show at the 27th day, that the orb may consider the moon back in phase around the 4th day of the cycle during waxing crescent, that could be like 4 to 6 days from now."

"Huh?' Pete shook his head and grunted mimicking Scooby doo.

Not taking note to Pete's confusion she continued on, still looking at the lunar calendar on the computer, "or maybe it's picky and wants a half moon, witch is the 7th day," Claudia began to pick up speed as her nerves started to get the best of her, "or what if the orb is stupid and greedy and wants a full moon, which is like 16 days from now? OMG I've got them stuck forever and now they're gonna die of thirst or hunger or something horrible," Claudia, practically in tears, "and it's all my fault, I'm the one who said that we should play this stupid game at the Warehouse. The Warehouse! What was I thinking? and…"

Pete cut her off, "NO, no, no, Claud stop, this is not your fault, and they're going to be just fine."

At this point Claudia's eyes were wet in tears, "but what if they can't get back and they…"

"Hey, what did I just say? They are going to be fine," Pete said in a slower pace while trying to convince himself as well. Claudia got out of her chair and hugged Pete, he reciprocated and hugged her back, wishing that the girl would stop blaming herself.

Myka put her hand to her mouth about to shed a tear for her dear Claudia, all she wanted to do was insert herself into the hug that Pete was giving her, "Don't my little girl, don't do this to yourself, it's not your fault," she told her in a shaky voice.

HG walked over to Myka and pulled her into another half hug where she accepted it by turning her entire body into the woman and wrapping her arms around her lower back, carful not to drop the artifact. HG cradled her head bringing it down into her still-good shoulder with her other arm, "She'll be fine," she talked lightly into her ear, "we will un-phase with the moon and then you can tell her all about your time running through walls." Myka let out a little laugh at the woman's description of their current situation, HG smiled at the sound of it.

Claudia pulled out of her hug with an idea in mind," Myka had the orb in her hand!"

"Yah," Pete said slowly, "what are you thinking Claud?"

"So she probably has it now."

Myka lifted her head from HG's shoulder and looked to Claudia; her interest peeked.

"Could she not just destroy it?" Claudia asked the room, hoping the girls would here it, and brain storm the idea as well.

"Totally asking the wrong guy here," Pete shrugged.

Myka turned her head from Claudia back to HG, still in her embrace, "Do you think that would work?" she asked knowing if anyone in the room had a clue, it would be her.

"Well to be honest, I don't think so. See if the orb was creating a field around us we could ether separate ourselves from it or destroy it to escape the effects. "But look, "HG unwrapped herself from Myka and walked over to Pete and put her hand through his chest, "I'm not in contact with it, and I am literally occupying the same space as Pete but I can't interact with him. Witch brings me to the conclusion that the orb is just the device that brings matter from one phase to the other."

"So if we destroyed it we would be stuck in this state indefinitely," Myka finished HG's explanation.

"Right," she nodded with an unease sigh.

"Ok nothing has happened," Claudia said, scanning the room. "So ether they smashed it; it didn't work, or smashing it was the wrong answer so they didn't try it, or they aren't even in the room," she said that last part with a heightened anxiety.

"No Claud, they're absolutely here. Right guys? "He yelled into the open room.

"Again, not def, out of phase," the girl mumbled to correct him.

'Right," he pointed to her, "and they also, absolutely did not break it, 'cause they're both giganto nerds who know giganto nerdy things, like when and when not to smash artifacts."

"No, you're right," The girl said with a little more optimism.

"But we have to do something really not cool now, little dude," Pete said in a hesitant voice.

Claudia closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, "no," she said in a dead girl's plead.

Pete patted himself down, "Oh dang, do you have your Farnsworth on you, I'm pretty sure Myka's and mine was left at Leena's?"

She put her fists to her forehead in realization, "no I left mine on the table there too."

"I'll try calling the B&B," He whipped out his mobile and hit 4 on his speed dial.

"Oh man, we both know he's not going to pick up the phone," The line began ringing, "I don't think that dinosaur has ever used something digital in his life."

"Come on Artie pick up, pick up," he waited a few more rings, "Yup, you're right."

"Told ya."

Pete hung up the phone. "Well you know what this means then Claud?"

"Oh crap, telling him on the Farnsworth seemed a whole lot safer," she groaned. Pete just gave her a look that said everything she was feeling inside. "Ok, ok let's go," she said in defeat.

Pete turned to the room again and said, "K girls, assuming that you're here and I'm not just standing like a fool talking to an empty room, but we'll be back, and hopefully with a solution from… well you know who from. Don't panic or anything, like it says on the cover of _The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, _but a yah, so…"

"Pete!" Claudia gestured to the door in apprehension to go and rectify the situation.

"Right coming," he turned and followed the girl out.

The door was just about to close when Claudia poked her head back into the room, "I'm really sorry Myka, HG, I promise I'll make this all better," she said with the utmost sincerity, then pulled her head out disappearing from the office as the door shut behind her.

Myka smiled from hearing her partner's poorly executed words of encouragement and Claudia's eagerness, but it soon vanished off her face, "Ok, ok," Myka began to work the facts out, "we are going to be stuck like this for a minimum of 4 days, right?"

"That would be correct, yes," HG concluded. "Until the moon is seen again in the sky."

"Right so, food; we won't have, but that's not deadly, we're just going to have an unplanned fast I guess, but water. What do we do about water? A human can't go 4 days without liquids, let alone the fact that it could be even longer than that.

"Well we are presently in a place witch holds the most spectacular wonders of the world, maybe we can find something within these walls that can help us," she said in a surprisingly calm manner.

"So what are you suggesting, we run through the shelves of the warehouse hoping to, literally, bump into something?"

'Yes, that's precisely what I mean," HG tilted her head and cocked a half smile.

Myka let out a laugh, "Ok then."

"Ok then," HG repeated while holding her gaze.

Myka blushed and twitched a little uncomfortably under the other woman's stare, "Ok," she blurted out to break the tension, "we should probably get a move on then."

"Yes we should," HG said in a manner that didn't help to bring Myka's nerves back down. Myka nodded her head in readiness and exited the office letting HG catch up to her at her own discretion. HG smirked and followed after her down into the many aisles of the Warehouse, hoping for a miracle.


	4. Lecture IV: Staying Up All Night

Lecture IV: Staying Up All Night

Pete and Claudia pulled into the B&B in the black SUV, both of them made sure to hide their laser tag gear in the back seat before going in. Claudia poked her head inside the house, "Artie?" she asked timidly as she hesitated to fully enter the foyer.

Pete shoved her in all the way, "Go on Claud."

"Yah, yah I'm going," she snapped back at a low volume. Claudia looked to her side to see Artie sleeping on the couch in front of the TV which kept replaying the menu sequence of their DVD. She then slowly tiptoed in front of the snoring man, Pete coxing her from behind the whole way. When she was within arm's length of him she reached out her hand in intent to nudge him awake, but just as she was about to touch him he let out a load snort that made her jump in the air and scream, "Ah!"

"Don't take my favorite spice rack!" He yelled as his body jolted upright on the couch. After he found his surroundings he looked at the freaked out Claudia and Pete standing in front of him. "What, what do you guys want?" he grumbled; adjusting his glasses.

"Don't take my favorite spice rack?" Pete repeated.

"What spices are a very important thing," he started to ramble out a justification, "I mean without them food would be bland, and a spice rack makes it easy for a person to find what they need and, and why am I explaining myself to you?"

Pete just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at the guy.

"Ah, Artie," Claudia began very hesitantly; her head was a bit cocked to the side, but in more of a fetal pose opposed to a dominant one. "So a, we were all, you know like, um at the Warehouse this evening and…ah, well, how to put this without you ah… well trying to kill me?" she flashed him a nervous grin.

"What did you do Claudia?" Artie asked raising his bushy eyebrows at her.

Claudia inhaled a big breath while throwing her hand up to her shoulder, pulling her head to the side half-hiding her face in her bent arm, she closed her eyes as she spoke as fast as she could, "Myka and HG accidentally touched the _Orb of Artemis_ and are now currently phased out in the Warehouse." She took in a beep breath while keeping her eyes closed, waiting for his reaction.

"They what?" he stood up off the couch. "_The Orb of Artemis,_ Claudia? Why, why, why would they… wait what, what were you doing in the Warehouse? Oh it doesn't matter," he put his hands up in frustration almost contradicting his words, "What in the world possessed them to touch that?"

"They didn't do it on purpose, The orb, I think maybe, may of gotten bumped, just speculating a hypothesis here, not saying anything that I'm inferring is actually true, but the orb must have been knocked off it's shelf, or something, and onto a bunch of crated where it almost fell, but it didn't 'cause the girls caught it before it broke or you know whatever…"

"It got bumped? His attention shifted to Pete, "and where were you when all of this was happening?"

"Um, I was kind of the person who bumped it," he flapped his lower lip down while inhaling, revealing _his_ I'm-in-deep-dodo-face.

Artie buried his face in his hand, "Children, I'm surrounded by children," he muttered to himself. After a brief moment that he took to collect himself he asked, "What day is the lunar cycle on?"

"27," Claudia answered immediately, she needed him to get all the information as fast as possible. She had admitted to herself that as much as getting Artie's help was scary; it also made her feel like he was unburdening her in some way.

"Now if I remember correctly the orb will phase back on the 3rd day of the cycle," he said with his finger to his chin.

"That's five days!"

"Yes Claudia it is," he scowled at her.

"So there's an artifact that can bring them back right?" Claudia almost pleaded for him to say that there was.

"I don't know," he said deep in thought.

"What do you mean you don't know," Pete asked.

"I mean I don't have a working memory of every single artifact and their abilities in the Warehouse, "he said in annoyance, "I need some time to go through the archives." He muttered grabbing his coat and hat off the free-standing rack beside the door. "Come on you two let's go," he said as he exited the house. Pete and Claudia ran out after him.

It had been six hours since Myka had split up with HG, to cover more ground, while wondering the most likely sections of the Warehouse for an artifact that hey could interact with; the not so funny thing to Myka was that they really didn't have a clue which sections were more likely to house an artifact with those specified abilities. They were just guessing. "Ah!" Myka yelled at the top of her lungs in frustration as she kicked and hit the towering shelves around her, wanting so bad for her flailing limbs to make contact with something, but they didn't. Her body stated to hurt from the back lashes of her air-beatings, in a furious response to the pain she grabbed her laser tag gun out of its holster and chucked it as hard as she could down the isle. She then slunk to her knees and dropped her head in physical and mental exhaustion. After a minute, which felt like a life time to the woman, she flopped over onto the floor in a fetal position, where she was grateful for its solid existence. Myka just lay down, her face half covered in her mess of hair, staring past her practically paralyzed arm on the floor.

HG came running around the corner of Myka's isle about to run past it, when she saw her lying on the ground, she bunny-hoped back a step and changed her heading to move towards her. "Are you alright?" she asked worried while approaching her, "I heard you scream."

"What?" Myka snapped out of her daze, "Oh, yah," she propped her upper body under her elbow, "I guess I just had an episode… like a juvenile child," she said slightly embarrassed. HG started to laugh at her, where she proceeded to feel even more sheepish. Myka put her hand over her face and shook her head at her own immaturity.

HG stopped laughing at the poor fatigued woman, and sat down next to her head putting her hand on it to weigh it down to her thigh. Myka let out a big sigh as she made herself more comfortable on her leg. HG felt at ease with having physical contact with something, or in this case someone, after her long night of reaching for things that she couldn't actually touch. HG started playing with Myka's curls like she had done earlier that evening. She loved how they bounced back after she pulled them taught.

Myka's scalp started to get warm and the back of her neck tingled to the touch of HG's hand through her hair, "How did you survive over a hundred years of being bronzed, I'm already going mad and it's only been less then a day?" Myka asked in tired curiosity.

"But I did go mad," HG said dryly with complete sincerity which surprised her. She was not one to give honesty easily.

Myka sat up and grabbed HG's arm into a hug letting her limb fall into Myka's lap, where she then rested her chin on HG's shoulder, "You're not mad, you're sad; there's a huge difference," she said while tucking some of HG's raven hair behind her ear.

HG looked into Myka's eyes were for one little moment she could believe that what she had said were true; she knew that Myka believed it, which gave her both great hope and pain. HG almost in tears dropped her forehead to Myka's; breathing in her vanilla sent that made her think of her old Victorian home in London.

Myka rested her hand on the base of HG's neck, wanting to envelope her as best she could, where HG took her Q from the other woman and brought her free arm around Myka's back. After a couple minutes had passed Myka began to feel uncomfortable at the fact that she felt right at home with this woman in her arms. Starting to panic a bit she said, "Hey, we should probably get back to the office and see if Artie and the others have found anything," as she lifted her head away from the other woman and slid her hands off her body, "assuming that's where they are," she forced a slightly awkward smile.

HG took note of Myka's sudden change in demeanor and decided to respect her cutely timid request of breaking contact, so she pulled away giving her space, then nodded her head to agree with her previous statement to find the others. They both picked themselves up off the floor and started towards the office in silence.

Claudia sat at a computer in the Warehouse office, head resting in the palm of her hand, sifting through artifacts on the digital data base. Pete was sitting on the floor to the back off the room; books sprawled out around him, as he thumbed through the pages of a big green book. Both of them looked drained and half awake.

Myka and HG phased through the closed door into the room, still in silence, their demeanors matched the other two's. Myka went to stand behind Claudia to look into what she was doing while HG went to check up on Pete's activities.

After a few minutes Claudia moaned as she blinked to refocus her eyes on the monitor,

"Dude, these words are all blurring together,"

"I'm feeling you here," he turned the page in his book, "I don't even know what I'm looking for," he added to the mood.

"That makes two of us," she replied; scrolling down on the screen, not taking her eyes off it.

Leena walked into the room with two Styrofoam coffee cups, full of her own brew, due to all the cafes in their small town being closed at that time of night. She also had a Coke for Claudia and a bag full of danish that she had intended to serve for breakfast, but ironically it sort of was their breakfast due to it being so late.

"Leena," Pete smiled, happy for his tired eyes to fall on a fresh sight, and also seeing the sustenance in her hands didn't hurt his change in disposition.

"Hey, any luck?" she asked; already filled in to the situation.

"Nope," Claudia spun around in her chair to look at the mystical young woman, whom she had grown found of after their rocky start earlier that year.

Leena handed Claudia her Coke, where Myka was forced to side step the exchange; not wanting the girls' limbs through her chest, after the woman had given Pete his coffee, "Where's Artie?" she asked, after the girl thanked her for the beverage.

Claudia spun back to her computer, "in the Warehouse. He mumbled something about China and disappeared about five minutes ago."

"Well did he sound hopeful?"

"I don't know he sounded like…"

"Like Artie," Pete finished the girls answer.

Leena nodded her head, a little aggravated that they could not read Artie as well as she could.

Claudia spun back to face the woman, "Hey Leena, you don't like see any other auras around the room, like not including the three of us, do you?"

Myka and HG looked at each other with questioning looks as to say, do you think it's possible? Then the two, as an answer and response, both positioned themselves right in front of the supernatural woman.

Leena looked around the room slowly taking her time, where the two women shifted their bodies to always be within her sight line, until she stopped scanning the office, "No I don't see anything," she said in regret.

The whole room let out their own sigh of disappointment to the woman's failure, not that any of them faulted her for it.

Leena felt the let-down she had created and needed to get out of the room and let the two get back to work without distraction. She slipped out of the office to go back to the B&B, she was also tired and worried and need to rest. Her exit was barley noticed by the group in the room, excluding Myka. The woman was standing next to the door as it closed behind Leena; the vacuumed air pressure of the room blew a little breeze which hit her, "that feels nice," Myka smiled at the cooling air movement across her warm face.

HG turned to her, "What feels nice?" she asked very curiously.

"Oh, just a bree…ze," Myka clued into what HG was so intrigued about.

HG moved in closer to Claudia and brought her lips about a centimeter away from her cheek, and blew as hard as she could. "Ah!" Claudia jumped in her seat putting her hand to the side of her face.

"What? what?" Pete turned to her.

"No nothing, I just felt something on my face, It was probably a fly or something," she wrote off the incident as not being anything, and evidently so did Pete for both of them went back to what they were previously doing.

"Myka this is incredible, do you know what this means?" HG turned to her. Myka responded with a surprised curious look which invited HG to explain it to her. "We share the same climate with them. When I moved the air in our phase it moved the air in theirs," she said in excitement.

Myka matched her enthusiasm, "This room does feel uncomfortably warm compared to the rest of the Warehouse, just as it always does, so we are defiantly sharing the same temperature," HG nodded her head with a grin, "but what does this mean for our situation."

HG's smile fell off her face, "Well it doesn't really mean anything, I just thought it was neat."

"It is neat," Myka compassionately smiled at her trying to hide her disappointment.

"You don't need to give me a pity smile Myka Bering."

"I'm not," she turned her aberrant smile into a legitimate one at hearing the woman use her full name.

Artie came bustling through the door, back first nudging it open, with a stone statue in his hand. It was about the size of his torso, and was just a head and shoulders of a man with a ruby third eye in the middle of his forehead. Artie put the artifact down on the same desk Claudia was working at.

"What is that, Artie?" Pete asked as he got up off the floor and walked over to him, hoping for good news.

"Yah, will it bring them back?" Claudia asked in anticipation as she also stood up and started to reach towards the object.

"Can we not touch the artifact?" he eyed her over his glasses.

Claudia yanked her hand back, "Why? What will it do to me?" she asked in fear.

"_It _won't do anything, _I _on the other hand might," he grumbled, obviously tired like the others, but in his case that meant his short fuse was now no fuse.

"Ok grumpy," she muttered under her breath.

'It is _Erlang Shen's__ (__二郎神__) Third Truth-Seeing Eye_," he said.

"Who?" Pete asked.

"Oh I know this one," Claudia piped in, "Yah, Erlang was that Chinese dude who fought that river dragon and saved his town from flooding, and they said he had a third truth-seeing eye which allowed him to defeat the creature."

"So what, the third eye is really that statue?" Pete asked, confident that he had said the correct statement.

"No, Pete," Artie snapped, and laughed in frustration, "The statue, oh my… no it's the ruby! He wore it as a pendant around his neck; they then later mounted it in the statue a hundred years after his death."

"Ok, so if it's a truth-seeing eye, you're thinking it maybe able to reveal the girls?" Pete asked hoping to get it right that time.

"Yes that's exactly what I'm hoping to achieve." He turned the statue to face an open space in the room, "Ok Myka, HG if you can hear me I need you to stand in front of the eye."

Myka and HG stated towards the empty spot, "Wait," HG grabbed Myka's arm before getting there. Myka turned to her, "We should probably take these off," HG gestured to their laser tag attire, "You know, to keep Claudia in the clear?"

Myka smiled at the woman's concern for the girl, and the two of them quickly slipped out of their gear, throwing it off to the side, and went to the instructed location.

Pete looked to the same stop, "I don't see them, is it not working or are they not here?"

"The ruby is activated by touch," Artie rested his finder on the stone, and a red light emanated from under it, he removed it revealing the girls, right in its visual field.

"Myka! HG!" Claudia ran closer to them, "Oh my…, are you guys ok?"

"Yah, we're fine," Myka answered.

"Yes," HG reassured the girl with a smile.

Claudia turned her head back to Artie, "I can't hear them."

"No of course you can't, it's a truth-seeing eye, not a truth-hearing ear," he stated.

Pete and Myka locked eyes for a moment, Myka's look told him that she was _really_ fine, and she trusted him to get them out of the mess that they found themselves in, and Pete's look enforced her that he wouldn't stop until he had got her back.

"So can this rock," Claudia pointed at the ruby, "pull them back to us or not?" she asked in anguish.

Artie finally took notice to the girls pain, "Oh," he began softer, "Claudia, this eye has only ever been recorded as a device in seeing, nothing more, but there is still a Warehouse of things, ok? I just need some time." He rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"No you need some rest, we all do," Pete responded to the rooms lack of energy, "I'm not saying we're giving up," he turned to the girls making sure they didn't take his suggestion the wrong way, but their look's clearly said that they understood. "I'm saying we'll all be a lot more alert and clear headed after some sleep."

They all seemed to agree with the man and decided to go back to Leena's for some much disserved rest.

Artie turned to Myka and HG where they started to fade with the red light from the ruby, He touched the gem again where it lit back up and the two focused back into there universe, "I suggest you two just stay here in the office and try getting some rest too." The girls nodded their heads welcoming the thought of sleep.

The three of them started towards the door, before Claudia exited she yelled, "Stay safe, love ya guys," she said quickly in a casual manner, trying not to show the real truth to her words.

Pete turned to them as well just simply waving an apologetic hand to them, as to say he was sorry for leaving them like that. Myka forced a smile and waved back to her partner. They then all disappeared behind the door.

HG was the first to move from the, again fading, red light to the spot were Pete was previously reading from. She looked to the ground and dropped to the floor in a loud sight. Myka laughed at the woman's over dramatic way of lying down, as she also walked over to that same area, and eased her way to the floor about a meter away from the sprawled out HG, finding her own comfortable position to sleep in. HG was about to make a witty comment stating the fact that it was going to be hard to cuddle from that distance, but she somehow contained herself in her half-awake state knowing that it might have made Myka feel uncomfortable, like she had felt earlier. As much as HG loved pushing her, she would never want to push her that far out of her comfort zone; she respected her too much for that.

Myka was lying on her back; she then turned her head to look at the other woman, lying on her side a little distance away, facing her, "HG?" Myka started to slur.

"Yes Myka," she responded in a similar tone.

"Are you gonna write another book?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I would write one about."

"What do you mean? You've been in your head for over a hundred years. You must have written like a dozen in there."

"Yah, you would think so," she responded in curiosity, "I don't even think I considered it," she said thinking back to her horrid experience being frozen in time.

Myka stayed silent, feeling guilty for bringing back her memories of being bronzed for the second time that evening.

"There was nothing special or exciting worthy of writing a book about after… well after my whole ordeal."

"I hope you can find something again in your life to make you want to write, I would very much love to read another book filled with your words Helena," Myka said ever so softly as she drifted off to sleep.

HG closed her eyes, almost in tears, hearing Myka's beautiful words towards her. The way she said her first name made her heart skip a beat. "Maybe I shall write a book about you Myka Bering," she mumbled under her breath as she let sleep take her over.

They slept sound that night, despite their poor sleeping location; they both felt comforted by the others presence, which was all they required that night to rest.


	5. Lecture V: The BuddySystem

Lecture V: Don't Always Trust The Buddy-System

"Myka! HG!" Claudia yelled as she burst through the Warehouse office's door, "Artie has an idea!" Pete walked into the room right on her heals, beelining towards the _Truth-See Eye _on the desk. He touched the ruby were it shone its red light into the same empty spot in the room.

Artie caught the door with his foot just as it was about to close in front of him, he used his body to fling it open as he walked in, coffee in hand. He then glared at Claudia and Pete for being inconsiderate as he almost got the door in his face, but nether of them noticed his scowl, or if they did, it was so second nature to them that they just ignored it. Or as Claudia had liked to say, '_Her hippocampus registered it, dubbed it not important, and threw it away.'_ Evidently the young girl's love affair with Wikipedia had gotten a little out of hand.

"Can you two just tone it down a bit, please," he grumbled, "I don't know if this is even going to work, Ok?" Artie headed out into the Warehouse on search of a particular artifact.

Pete and Claudia glanced at each other, wondering if there was even a possibility of Artie's idea to fail, but then their faith in him kicked in and they both said in unison, "It'll work."

"Myka! HG! Guys! You here?" Pete grabbed the statue and slowly started to rotate it on the table bit-by-bit exposing the whole room in the red light, not unlike a lighthouse. He finally stopped when he saw the two lying on the floor. Myka was stirring, hands to here ears, as she buried her face into the ground in response to the light. HG's reaction to the ruby beam was a bit more welcoming, I repeat: _a bit_, she blinked her eyes trying her best to wake herself up, unlike Myka who would have gladly slept the entire day away. HG sat up and looked off to her side, making sure the orb was still tucked in the corner of the room, where Myka had left it the day before; she nodded when she confirmed its presence. "How can you two possibly still be sleeping; we left you guys like eleven hours ago?" He gasped as he checked his watch.

Claudia ran to Myka, plopped herself cross legged centimeters from her head and started to pound the ground in unison of yelling, "Myka! Myka! Myka!" She said it quickly and very annoyingly.

Myka responded promptly to her noise by lifting her head towards her. "Ok, Ok I'm up," Myka groaned. Claudia didn't hear her say the words but still knew exactly what she'd said.

"Myka," Claudia said in a different tone, now looking into her eyes. Claudia's face was radiating love towards her older sister and just needed to say her name again in joy.

Myka smiled the biggest smile towards her little girl, and with that emotion; dragged herself up into a sitting position, looking straight into Claudia's eyes.

"You guy's still Ok?" Claudia asked her.

Myka just nodded her head with a half smirk, loving her that much more for having that much concern. She made sure not to hint towards her that she was extremely parched.

"Nod for yourself darling, because I don't know about you, but I'm in desperate need of a le vater just about now," HG stated in a tone a bit harsher then she'd intended it to be. She had always been told by her family that she was frequently a bit _off_ in the mornings, or as her mother liked to put it; she was a _Goodly Rotten Apple_. HG was just starting to realize that what they had said may have had some merit to it.

Myka turned her head to her, "then by all means, go. I'm sure the dugout full of water out front will suffice as a water closet, granted you may want to find a more suited word, for _closet_ seems a bit too small in this case," She said in a way that told her she wasn't about to get tripped up by a bit of French.

HG smiled at her feeling her natural attraction towards her intensify as she was surprised more and more by Myka's intelligence. She realized that both Myka and she shared a general knowledge of the world around them, they both kept theirs eyes' and minds' open to absorb life's wonders. "No, I think I'll take my chances with Artie and wait until I can use a more… _friendly_ facility," she tried to say in the nicest tone she could, to right her wrong of the last one.

Myka turned her head back to Claudia, and smiled at HG but making sure that she didn't see it.

"What was all of that about?" Claudia asked Myka.

"Nothing," Myka mouthed as she shook her head with a smirk.

After Pete was satisfied that Myka and HG were still fine from the last time that he had seen them, he pointed his gaze toward HG as she stood up off the floor, "So HG, you ah, slept a whole night together with Myka, eh?" he bluntly stated at her. She responded with a questioning glance, wondering where this loaded question was going to end up. "So you can settle this once and for all," He stood there hands folded across his chest, his glare was hard and serious, almost burning a hole in her head. HG side glanced Myka while holding her breath; anticipating what he was going to say next.

He threw his hands down to his side and in a giddy tone asked, "Did you hear Myka talk in her sleep? 'Cause she totally does!"

"Pete! I do not talk in my sleep," Myka snapped at him, full well knowing he couldn't hear her.

HG let out her held breath as her face brook into a smile; she brought her hand up to the side of her face, making a centimeter space in-between her thumb and index finger, mouthing the words, "a little bit."

Myka sprung up off the floor, "Trader!" She pointed to HG, "You've really turned into one of them, haven't you?"

HG just shrugged, _'guilty'_ at her.

Claudia laughed at the sight of them; if they had been in black and white, it would have been a perfect replica of an over-dramatic silent film.

Myka turned back to Pete, "I do not talk in my sleep."

"What Myka? What? I can't hear you," He cupped his hand behind his ear.

"Very funny Pete." She attempted to American-sign along when repeating her self, "I do not talk in my sleep," unfortunately she only remembered the signs for, _I _and _don't_, the rest she mixed in umpire gestures; not that it really mattered, Pete knew exactly what she was saying.

Pete just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at her, playing dumb.

"Pete, as soon as I get out of here… get out out-of-phase I'm going to hurt you!" Her eyes were wide with frustration.

"I can't hear you, I can't hear you," He sang while dancing around her.

"Can I once just come into my office with you guys behaving like adults, instead of bouncing around like children?" Artie walked into the room eyeing Pete in particular. Claudia jumped to her feet in response to his entrance.

Pete stopped his skipping, "sorry Artie."

Artie just grumbled in response.

"Hey, where's the artifact that you said you were getting?" Claudia asked.

Artie shoved his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a gold coin.

Pete looked at it in confusion, "Is that a looney? Are we going up to Canada to purchase a magical cup of Tim Hortons coffee; where if we drink it we'll turn into polar bears and growl a special harmonic bear growl that will vibrate their atoms back into our phase?"

The whole room glared at him, all wanting to slap him up side the head.

"No, Pete it's not a looney it's a Leprechaun's golden coin," Artie barked at him.

"Leprechauns?" They all said in unison.

"Yes, leprechauns."

"Ok dude, I'll admit; there's a lot of stuff in this place that has me questioning its existence, but seriously, we're supposed to believe that leprechauns, magical creatures protecting their gold at the end of rainbow, actually excited?" Claudia asked.

"No, no, leprechauns weren't magical creatures they were merely a family of little people in Old Ireland who were minors by profession; the family came across a special kind of metal which appeared to be gold, but it had a special quality to it. They then minted a small handful of coins using the special gold, and this." he lifted the coin, "this is one of them."

"Ok… so what does it do?" Pete asked.

"Oh, I'll show you, but we have to go outside for it," he gestured to the door, "Pete grab the Truth-Seeing-Eye," he pointed to the statue. Pete complied. "Myka make sure you have the orb with you." She went to the glass ball on the ground and scooped it up. The gang then fallowed Artie outside of the Warehouse.

The sun was bright and high in the sky; they all had to squint due to it. Artie was the only one prepared with his clip on sunglasses, "Perfect," Artie said looking up at the sun. "Pete, put the statue on the hood of the SUV." He complied again with his instructions, while touching the ruby to make it glow once more; the girls fell into formation in front of the beam.

"Ok we're outside, spill ol' man," Claudia insisted.

"Hey watch it young lady."

"Oh, sorry there Gramps," she said pretending to be scared.

He just shook his head at her and began to explain, "The Leprechauns were a greedy and vengeful family. They were constantly mocked for their small stature so after discovering the gold, they decided to punish their fellow towns people by robbing them of there shillings. Now, the way they did it without ever getting caught was like so." He pulled out the coin and angled it to capture the suns rays, as he directed the beam to the Warehouse entrance; half of the door, from the ground up, dissipated away, leaving a small whole, just big enough for a child, or in this case a leprechaun, to walk through.

"Say what!" Pete howled as he made his way to the opening. "Is it safe?" he turned to Artie asking permission to go through.

"Go ahead," Artie assured him.

Pete timidly crouched through the opening, once all the way in Artie moved the coin away to break the ricocheting beam of light. The hole closed up and the Warehouse door reappeared exactly where it had been moments earlier.

Pete burst through the door back outside, "That was amazing!"

"Yah that was awesome," Claudia's face was covered in a grin.

"But Artie, how exactly is this going to bring the girls back?" Pete questioned.

"I'm hopping if I reflect the sun's light into the ruby it will then bounce off the gem and create a door in the eye's glow, creating a passage way through our two phases.

"So as long as they are in the light, they should just shift back to us?" Pete asked.

"Yes, well that's the plan," he pushed his sun glasses up on his nose. He turned and looked at the women in the red light, "You two ready to give this a shot?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Pete threw up his hands shaking them at Artie, "What if the coin dissipates the girls like it did the door?"

"No it won't, it doesn't do anything to organic beings; that's why when _you_ went through the door way you didn't dissipate when the beam of light hit you." He explained.

"Oh, Ok, I see. So just to make this very clear, this won't hurt them in any way?" Pete eyed Artie.

"No Pete, They'll be fine, no matter what the outcome."

"Ok good," he sighed with relief.

Artie turned back to Myka and HG, "K, now are we _all_ ready?" he eyed Pete as he asked.

"Well Myka," HG turned to her, "Are we ready?" she smiled at her with only her eyes.

"Yes I guess we are," Myka said a little nervously, anticipating the outcome of Artie's trial.

The two of them turned to face the statue where Claudia and Artie were to one side of it, and Pete was to the other. Myka looked down to the orb in her hands, almost double checking that it was there, as not trusting the pressure of the balls existence in her own hands, she then looked back up at Artie and nodded.

"Ok, here I go," Artie said as he captured the suns light in the coin and directed it into the Truth-Seeing-Eye. The red light around the woman started to wave as both Myka's and HG's bodies stated to become more prominent, the muted colour of their existence came more alive.

Myka started to yell, "Artie! Artie is it working?"

To all their glee the three of them could hear her muffled shooting. But after awhile had passed, that was all that they could hear, just the muffles of the two girls, yelling to communicate with them; they seemed to only be halfway through.

"Artie," HG called to him, "There seems to not be enough power for us to crossover."

"Yah, I was afraid of that," He changed his focus to Claudia, "Hey, hold this, won't you? My hand is killing me," he passed the coin to her while she realigned the sunlight into the eye. He then stepped away to pace and mutter to himself, as he was trying to work out a solution.

Both Claudia and Myka just tracked his movements, hoping he could figure out a way for them to get back.

HG looked at the Tesla on Pete's hip, then to the statue, and then to Myka, who was biting her lower lip and twisting her hair looking at Artie. HG smiled at her, wondering if she even knew how cute she was. She looked back to Pete and managed to catch his eyes; she pointed to the Tesla and mimed herself shooting the statue with it. She then mouthed the words "_after I_ (she pointed to herself) _step out"_ (she jumped out of the light) then she walked back into it, making sure he understood what she was saying. Unfortunately Pete must have noticed the worried expression in her eyes, for his eyes grew wide in understanding of what she was asking him to do; he then franticly shook his head at her. HG pleaded him to stop his frantic head movement with raised eyebrows, after he complied she gestured with her head to Myka, still tracing Artie in a daze. Pete dropped his head with a sigh then finally nodded his cooperation, as he pulled out the Tesla. HG slid one of her hands through Myka's cradled grip on the orb, Myka's body jumped as she was startled out of her trance, HG held onto the artifact as she grabbed one of Myka's curls with her other hand and pulled it taught and let it bounce back to her beautiful face, "trust me my Myka, this is for the best," she then leaned in and planted a kiss on her temple before quickly sliding the orb from her hand and giving Pete the nod Ok while back stepping out of the light.

"Wait HG!" she reached for her, but it was already too late; Pete fired the Tesla at the statue where a bright yellow light flashed and dissipated. Myka was back in phase. She spun around and yelled in a panic, "Where is she?" she stopped and looked at Pete, "Where is she Pete?" She then ran to the statue, but at the sight of it she started to cry. The ruby mounted inside was cracked in three, as she reached out and touched it two of the three shards fell out onto the hood of the SUV. Myka turned her head to Pete, with pure fury in her eyes, she ran at him thrashing wildly at him, "how could you? How could you?" he grabbed her in his arms as she still continued to pound at him.

"Myka! Myka she told me to do it. She wanted to save you." Myka gave up her beatings and buried her face into his chest as she continued to sob. He cradled her head and rocked her gently; trying to calm her down.

Claudia walked over to the pair and put an arm around Myka's back, "Hey Myka, none of us are about to give up on her, OK? We'll get her back, just like we got you back". Myka pealed herself away from Pete to envelope the girl in her arms, "Thanks Claud," she whispered in a shaky voice.

"I know you didn't technically go anywhere, but I still missed you Myka," Claudia said giving her a tighter squeeze.

Myka let out a little laugh, "I missed you too kid-o." Claudia was usually the first to pull out of a hug, granted she was usually the one who initiated it, but this time she was going to let Myka pull out of it when she was good and ready. When she finally did Artie was there at her side.

"So ah, you Ok there Myka?" he asked in his traditional awkward Artie way, trying not to show any form of emotion, but he was obviously relived that his agent was back, and everyone knew it.

"Um, I don't really know right now," she looked at him while trying to sort out the past events in her head. Artie smiled at her in a manner that gave her no choice but to hug the old man.

HG smiled at the sight of Myka safely with her family, she didn't have a doubt in her mind that her self sacrifice was the wrong decision.

Myka pulled out of her hug with Artie and asked, "Why didn't she just stay in the light with me?"

Artie explained, "Because she probably foresaw the Tesla damaging the eye, due to its quick power introduction; that's what brought you back, the big short burst of energy. I guess she didn't want to chance her own body's energy stopping yours from crossing over. If the Tesla didn't introduce enough power for the both of you, you guys would still be stuck on the other side with a shattered truth-seeing-eye."

"You mean like how she's stuck now?" she said in a heart breaking tone, as she started to tear up again.

"Hey, hey Myka," Pete scooped her back in his arm talking to her in a soothing manner, "we should get you back to Leena's so you can recuperate"

"No Pete," she pushed herself away from him, "I'm staying here, besides all I need right now is a bottle of water and a washroom, both which I can find in the Warehouse, then I'm going to find a way back for HG." She then turned and started towards the Warehouse door.

Artie called out, "Myka I honestly don't know what ells we can do, I've been over the database and…"

"Don't you dare Artie," she spun on her heals to face him, pointing a finger, "Don't you dare give up on her."

"I wasn't implying that…"

"No? Are you sure about that Artie?" She said accusatively, "It's no big secret that you don't approve of HG. You're probably thinking to yourself, _'good riddance, finally she's out of my hair and my hands are completely clean of it too'._"

"Myka, that's not true," Artie said in a tone that implied that she should know better.

Myka's eye's started to pool in tears as she stared at her boss; she finally turned around and walked into the Warehouse. Artie dropped his head in his hands and grumbled.

Pete walked over to the man, "don't worry Artie, she'll simmer down and realize that what she'd said wasn't true."

He looked up at him and said in an emotionless tone, "I'll go back to Leena's and work from there." He knew he needed to give Myka her space. As he walked to his car he wondered if what Myka had said was actually factual. He had said it wasn't but maybe it was; he did feel pretty burden free when he saw Myka standing before him back in phase. It actually hadn't occurred to him that HG was missing until Myka started calling for her. He climbed in his car and sped off, deep in contemplation over his feelings towards their newest agent.

Pete and Claudia turned to one another, "so… I guess we're back to databases and books," Pete said in a less then excited voice. Claudia just nodded to him, "Goody," he added sarcastically, as they made their ways to the Warehouse.

After the two had slipped inside the building HG turned to the dugout and eyed it, the same way she had eyed her many opponent when playing chess, "Alright, le vater I really hoped we wouldn't have the pleasure." She sighed and began to make her way towards it; she then called over her shoulder, "Myka when I get out of this, you are going to owe me so big!" She then smiled to herself knowing that there wasn't a thing in the world that she would do for Myka that would warrant a payback in reply; not a thing.


	6. Lecture VI: Choose Your BFF Wisely

Lecture VI: Choose Your BFF Wisely

It had been several hours since they had gotten Myka back, where they spent the entire time in the Warehouse office. Claudia was back at her same desktop computer, Pete sat on the floor in his exact same spot, with the same big green book in hand, the only thing different to this scene was Myka's addition; she sat next to Pete on the floor sifting through books as well.

HG sat tucked away near the stairs that led to the upper part of the office, with the orb beside her. She had her knees bent to her chest, chin resting on them, as she hugged her legs close to her body. It was a very meek position that she didn't normally find herself in. She looked out to the room, seeing the three working to get her back, but her head was completely elsewhere. It was with her Christina; HG absentmindedly slipped her locket off her neck and started playing with it, reminiscing on her old life with her daughter.

The trio had barley spoken a word to one anther within those long hours. Claudia, for the past hour and a half, had given up her efforts of searching the digital database, and had merely escaped into a day dream about Todd. It's not that the girl didn't care, because she did, she was well aware of Myka's anxiety towards HG's absents, as she also knew of the two women's strong bond that they had created over the past few weeks, even though she didn't quite understand herself why Myka trusted her so much so fast, but more importantly Claudia owed HG for saving her life; she was not one to forget a life debt, even if the person she owed it to was not completely trustworthy. Granted with all these thoughts Claudia couldn't change the fact that she had done all that she could for the phased out women, the only reason she still sat at her computer, mindlessly scrolling through endless artifacts, thoughts elsewhere, was to hinder Myka from giving up any hope.

Pete looked up for the hundredth time now, checking on Myka, who had her nose buried into a book, and for the hundredth time he was about to say something, but didn't.

"Out with it," Myka said not taking her eyes off the page.

"What?" Pete asked.

"You keep looking at me wanting to say something, so out with it," she lifted her head out of her book with a dead-paned expression.

"No, I just wanted to see how you were holding up there Myks?"

Myka turned back to her book, "I'm fine Pete, I'm not the one stuck out of phase," she said through clenched teeth, angered that he was doting over her when he should be helping HG.

"Yah, I know, but I also just want to say that, if for some reason we can't find a way to get her back…"

Myka cut him off by whipping her head around then casting a piercing stare that could kill.

"No, no, no, no." he threw his hands up, exposing his palms, "Myka let me finish before you strangle me with Twizzlers or something ," he pleaded, then continued before she could get a word out, "If we can't get her back before the orb does, she still may have a chance of surviving dehydration".

"What? How?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well there was a buddy of mine in my platoon who once got himself separated from the rest of us during a training opp.; he ended up getting a bad head wound so he passed out in the woods. It took us four days to find him and when we did he was unconscious, but still alive."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Pete four days is not five, and I like how you managed to skip out on the details of his condition when you found him… he was still alive, wow that's relieving," she sneered sarcastically, "He was probably knocking on death's door when you found him. And again that was at four days, four Pete!" she was now shouting.

"No Myka, wait, listen; there have been reported incidences of people lasting a full five days without water," Pete panicked to try and calm his partner down.

Myka's face was now hot with anger and her eyes moist with tears. Her head was clouded with thoughts of her unworthiness of HG's sacrifice. She couldn't fathom why one of the most brilliant minds who'd ever lived had chosen to exchange herself for an average women who grew up in a bookstore and still slept with a teddy-bear, "Really Pete, how many? How many reported incidences survived five days, huh?" she barked at him.

Claudia, tuned into their heated conversation, saw Pete struggling for an answer to Myka's loaded question. Claudia knew that look she was wearing, and frankly she was petrified of it; she knew there was only one thing that they could do when she had gotten to this certain point, "Hey Pete," she zoomed out of her chair towards him and linked his arm with hers, ripping him off the floor, "I think Artie could use our help back at Leena's. You know to like ah… to bounce ideas off him!" she zipped through the rest of her sentence.

"But Artie doesn't bounce things off of u…"

Claudia interrupted him, "he does if we initiate the bouncing," she lifted her eyebrows to him, hopping he would see the escape route she way creating for him.

He seemed to have caught on when responding, "No you're right Claud. Good idea." His arm still linked with hers pulled her out of the office to leave Myka and her anger that seemed to have filled the room replacing all the air.

Once the door had closed behind the two, Myka let out a loud frustrated scream as she hurled her book at the back of the door, repeating her performance of the night before with her laser tag gun. She threw up her knees, mimicking HG's position; letting her head drop into them.

HG, who was following her and Pete's tiff, slipped her necklace back around her neck and got up to make her way over to sit herself cross legged beside Myka facing her. Myka lifted her head to reveal a single tear running down her cheek. HG was about to wipe it away when she stopped; reminding herself that she couldn't actually touch her. "Oh my Myka, don't cry on my behalf," she whispered right into her ear, while her own eyes started to pool.

Myka put her hand up to her ear where HG had just murmured, "Helena?" she asked ever so softly.

HG remembered what she had done to Claudia the day before, with that HG slowly leaned into Myka's face once again, and ever so gently blew on her cheek.

Myka's eyes closed while a smile broke on her face as she felt the older woman's warm breath fall across it. After a lingering moment she opened her eyes and let out a little giggle, "you were right, sharing the same climate is neat," she let her legs fall to her sides, now sitting cross legged as well, with her hands resting on her knees.

"Remember darling, you were the one to confirm shared temperature," HG said with a cheeky smile as she shifted herself so that she sat facing Myka straight on, she slid closer towards her making their knees overlap one another's as HG slipped her hands to rest on her own knees, which in turn were also on top of Myka's and in her hands. After a silent moment of the two sitting there, HG's knees and hands could feel Myka's body heat, not just on them, but inside them as well. It was one of the most incredible feelings that she'd ever felt. To HG's surprise her mind didn't go to a sexual thought of Myka, a beautiful women, being inside her, but one the contrary, she was reminded of her past condition of Christina unborn inside her womb. The warmth she felt with her baby under her flesh, knowing that Christina was hers and she was Christina's. That feeling, the one she thought she'd never feel again, came back to her in that instance; her eye's started to glisten with tears as she looked into Myka's peaceful face.

Myka felt the warmth of HG in the same concentrated parts of her own body, she looked down to inspect her hands and knees, she lifted one of her hands, palm up, examining it, after a sew seconds she felt its temperature lower. She lifted her head and stared into the empty space in front of her, "HG?" she questioned, not moving her hand down.

HG slid her hands off her legs onto the floor on ether side of Myka, she then ever so slowly leaned her whole body into her. Myka's still extended hand fell right through her chest where her heart was, the older woman stopped instantaneously feeling the warmth in her heart; her eyes shut hard as she bit her lower lip, feeling her heart starting to race in response to it, _'why didn't Pete respond like this when I waved my hand through his chest?'_ HG thought to herself, _'the contact must have been too brief, I did move quite quickly,'_ she had rationalized an answer.

Myka's extended hand had begun to warm again; she closed her eyes and smiled in response, "Helena." Myka then felt warm air movement on her lips knowing HG way saying something to her, of course Myka had no idea what it was, but she didn't seem to care.

"You've already saved me Myka, if you bring me back, I will destroy you," HG said with tears streaming down her face, she then tore herself away from her, lifting herself up onto her feet as she struggled to steady herself as a powerful head rush came over her, her vision when black for several seconds, "Bloody hell," she blinked her vision clear again as she soon overcame her vertigo. Her hands went to her face as she wiped away her tears trying desperately to pull herself together physically and more importantly emotionally.

After what felt like a short message of purely soft breath to Myka, she felt her knees and hands go instantaneously cool, as though HG had broke away from her body contact. Myka just sighed at the realization that she was no longer there and wondered to herself it she'd done something wrong to warrant HG's separation.

HG looked back to Myka who had picked up a new book and opened it, to resume her search. "No stop!" HG yelled angrily _towards_ Myka but, in all honesty, _at_ herself, "Stop! You have to stop and give up on me, I'm killing you! I'm killing you Myka and you don't even know it!" her tears fell harder now drowning her face, "I'm killing you and you don't even disserve it," her yell quickly turned into a quiet sob, as she looked at her only friend in the world. "You disserve happiness Myka, and all I can offer you is destruction. That's all I am now, a black hole to suck the world up into." She crossed the room and sat next to Myka who was still flipping through pages of her book, "You need to let me die here Myka… my strong, beautiful, brilliant Myka," she said in a whisper as she reached out and brushed her fingers through Myka's cheek, Myka didn't seem to feel the brief contact for her lack of movement in response. HG let out a long sigh as her eyes drifted off Myka and onto the orb. She got up, ignoring her vision falling dim again, and headed straight to her gaze, eyes locked on the artifact like she was about to slaughter it like she murdered the men responsible for her daughter's death, "I can at the very least hinder my arrival from this bloody thing," she growled behind clenched teeth. She grabbed up the glass ball and swung it above her head about to smash it against the ground when she froze at the sound of Myka's voice.

"Do you honestly think that's supposed to make me feel better?" she asked in such a way that revealed how ridiculous the notion seemed to her.

HG looked to Myka, then followed her gaze to the door, were there stood Leena, food in hand. The woman had slipped into the room unnoticed by HG.

"Myka I know for a fact that you haven't eaten since dinner last night." Leena said calmly as she picked up the book Myka had flung at the door, which lay at her feet.

"So?" Myka put her nose back into her book.

"So, that's been awhile."

"Well it's not like I'm going to die," Myka lifted her head to look at the other woman, she then sighed and changed her tone to be a bit nicer, "look Leena, I appreciate your concern, but I really don't feel like eating right now, ok?"

Leena put down the food on a nearby desk and walked towards her, "Myka you have to stop punishing yourself for being here, when HG isn't."

Myka put her head back down into her book, grateful for her hair falling down like curtains to conceal her face from Leena, as she was afraid she might start to cry again.

Leena just waited silently for Myka to speak her mind, she observed her aura; it was tired and cracked in colours of midnight blue and hazel. After a good minute she spoke, not lifting her head, she mumbled into her book, "I _need_ her."

With those quite muffled words, HG pulled the orb, which was still above her head ready to smash, down into her lap as she dropped to sit on the floor.

Leena twitched a smile at the woman's bravery in sharing her feelings towards HG aloud, Leena had already known Myka's emotions, but she was not sure if Myka had known them until that very moment. Leena started, "Myka, you…"

"Leena please don't say anything," she implored as she lifted her head to her.

Leena nodded to her in understanding, there was nothing she could've said to make her feel better, so she turned around and exited the Warehouse leaving the food behind.

Myka put her book down, stood up and calmly walked over to a cabinet, where she opened it, took out an industrial sized garbage bag, and shock it open. She then went to the food that Leena had left and shoveled it into the bag, spinning it shut, and placing it outside the door which led down into the Warehouse, she then spun around, went back to her spot and sat down, just as calmly as she had gotten up. After a moment she let out a huge sigh as she dropped her whole body backward onto the ground. She lay there not unlike a starfish staring up at the ceiling in mental defeat.

HG's watched Myka sprawled out on the floor, her chest rising and falling with each breath. HG finally decided to put the orb down beside her and go to Myka. She stood straddling over the woman's virtually motionless body looking into her emerald eyes. At that moment HG pushed all of her thoughts regarding her plans to end the world, her daughter's death, and all her horrid years in the bronze sector, to the back of her mind. The only thing that bothered her within that moment was Myka's depressing mood. Her face cracked a sinister smile towards her friend beneath her, she would make her feel better; she had to.

HG dropped to her knees, still straddling Myka, as she bent down to her ear and blew as hard as she could. Myka yelped as she grabbed her ear almost sitting all the way up, and then falling back down to the ground. HG broke into a short burst of laughter right before she went for a quick horizontal gust up her neck.

"HG!" Myka yelled as she twitched again while her face broke into a grin. Myka could have easily turned over to hide her face, but there wasn't a chance in hell that she was going to hide from the mischievous HG Wells.

"Oh, you're going to get it Myka Bering," HG cocked her head sideways as she aimed her mouth just right, when she was all lined up for the shot she blew the biggest breath up Myka's nose.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Myka shrieked a scream so deafening and so long it pained HG's ears. Both women bust out into laughter. After a few minutes of sore sides and cheek muscles, they settled down and Myka huffed, "I cannot believe you just blew up my nose," her face still wore a smile.

"I just couldn't help myself darling," HG spoke with a satisfying grin. Myka closed her eyes as she let every muscle in her body melt into the ground beneath her. HG looked to her own body's position, noticing that she still was hovering over Myka's body. She then decided to rectify her position by lining her hips up with Myka's while stretching her feet to fall on top of hers as she put her bent elbows on the floor to the side of Myka's shoulders, making a tabletop over her. HG's dark eyes gazed into Myka's as she was mesmerized by a tinny fleck of gold she had found in her left eye, it was so small and so lovely surrounded by the green of the rest of her iris. HG closed her own eyes as she gently lowered her self on the ground, completely engulfed within Myka's body.

Myka's head jolted up as she gasped at the feeling of her entire body going warm, "holly crap Helena," she said out of breath. Her chest went tight and her face felt flush as her other extremities started to tingled, but after a few deep breaths she had managed to calm herself a bit, "Ok," she muttered to herself noticing that she could handle it. She then slowly let her head drop to the ground as she put her arms across her stomach, which in turn was putting them around HG's back.

HG smiled as she slid _her_ hands in between her stomach and the floor, which also lay around Myka's lower back. She then turned her head so that her face lay right beside Myka's neck, "I need you too, Myka," she whispered.

Myka squeezed her eyes shut as the warm air of HG's breath fell across her neck; _she just had to get her Helena back_ she thought.

They both relaxed in the most amazing embrace which quickly led to their unconsciousness due to sleep.

Myka's eyes flew open after some time had passed; it could have been minutes it could have been hours for all she knew. She pushed her torso up with her elbows as she smiled, "HG, I think I've got an idea!"


	7. Lecture VII:Faith,Trust& a Cup With Rust

Lecture VII: Faith, Trust & a Cup with Rust

It was dreadfully late, or rather it was dreadfully early and Pete was passed out in his bed at the B&B snoring away into his pillow when his slumber was interrupted as a peppy j-pop song filled his bedroom, coming from his mobile phone as it also started to vibrate on his bedside table. Claudia had pranked the agent by putting the annoying, girly song on his phone; she later regretted it for that Pete fell in love with it, and now has his own dance-party-of-one whenever it rings.

The man groaned in annoyance towards the phone as he reached for it, "Ahh" he moaned into the phone, not caring who was on the other side.

"Pete?" Myka questioned like she was confused to whether it was him picking up his own phone.

"Myka? Early. Sleep," his responsiveness was at a low so he could only muster up one word sentences.

"Sorry Pete, I didn't realize it was so late, but I need you and Artie to come down to the Warehouse, I want to run a theory by him, and I just thought you would want to hear it as well… but I guess it's early so if you don't want to come, you can just send Artie, I mean that would be Ok…"

"No, no, no Myka I'm coming," he interrupted her in hopes of proving to his partner that he was one hundred percent committed to get HG back no matter what the time of day… or how hungry he was, as he just realized how famished he was indeed. 'Hey Myks, want me to bring you some breaky? Oh speaking of chow, guess what we found in the artifact database last night before bed?"

"A ruler that instantly matures people when they are smacked on the back of their hand with it? No wait, that doesn't exist, it's just on my fantasy artifact list"

"Fantasy artifact list?" Pete questioned.

"Yah, it's my mental list of artifacts that, to the best of my knowledge, don't exist but I wished did."

"Hum," he contemplated for a moment, "How many are we allowed on our list?"

"Five."

"Five? And out of five you wasted on one maturing people?"

Myka started fumbling off a retort in shock, "I don't ev… I ya…I don't even know how to respond to that; there are just so many things I could say right now… oh boy where to start." He could hear her smiling through her voice.

Taking advantage of her newly found good mood he asked, "I bet one of your other ones is a spinning wheel that turns straw into Twizzlers?"

Myka let out a laugh, "No but I like the way you think there, Agent Lattimer."

It was now his turn to laugh, "Ok, so I found this artifact that's an umbrella but when you open it and turn it upside down, a cloud appears above it and it rains juice."

"Juice?" She sounded very skeptical.

"Yah! Can you believe it?"

"um…Pete, who's umbrella was it?"

"Oh some dude with a weirdo name like…Omay Dway Anay, or was it… Ocay Adway?…Aidway?…. Amnay, No! Olcay Aidway An…an-something, something…?"

"Ethay Oolcay aidway anmay?" Myka asked.

"Yah! Yah that's it!" He shouted in excitement as he pointed to nothing in his dark bedroom.

Myka burst out into laughter.

"What?" Pete asked in confusion, "What? Who is that guy?"

"Pete did you find the artifact write up in the database, or did Claudia?"

Pete thought on it for a second, "Claudia."

"Did you look at the screen when she was reading its description to you?"

"No, I don't think so…why?"

"Ethay Oolcay Aidway Anmay is Pig Latin for The Cool-Aid Man," she burst out into another fit of laughter.

"Oh very funny Claud," he muttered under his breath.

"Remind me to give her a high-five when I see her next," She managed to say through her laughter.

"Yah, yah… laugh it up _Ophelia_." Just as his comment fell out of his mouth she grew silent. 'Myks? You still there?"

"Yah Pete, I'm still here," she said in her _work_ voice, "So can you be sure to get Artie and make your way down here?"

"Yah of course, I'm getting out of bed as we speak." His voice was also professional, knowing she had remembered the purpose of her call, "We'll be right there."

"K, see you in a bit," she hung up the phone.

Pete pressed his phone _off_ and threw it on his bed as he rushed to get dressed knowing that Myka would be anxiously waiting for them.

Less then ten minutes later Pete and Artie were throwing on their jackets in the foyer readying to walk out the door, when a half asleep redhead with bed-hair, wearing a short sleeved T-shirt and pyjama pants with old school ghetto-blaster print all over them, walked slowly down to the centre landing of the staircase asking in a groggy voice, "Hey, what's going on?"

"Hey Claud. we're just going down to the Warehouse to work out an idea that Myka's got," Pete answered her.

"Hold up a sec. I'm coming with," she turned to head back up the stairs.

"Are you sure, we can give you a call if there's anything worth while, so you can go back to bed?" Pete offered.

"No way _Jose_, I'll be like one sec, just gotta throw on different pants, and a bra would be smart too." She said that last part quietly to herself as she walked back to her room to change.

Myka came down the spiral staircase in the Warehouse office, with a black book in one hand, as the other was tucking her cell into her front trouser pocket.

HG was still lying in the same spot that Myka was also in, a few minutes prior. She had tried to get up when Myka did, but was overcome by an episode of visual snow, at the same time of discovering her cramped legs. She had cried out in pain as she moved her lower limbs, but her eyes were dry, not one tear fell. She gave up and admitted defeat to her sore extremities and her violent headache as she curled up into a fetal position waiting for Myka to somehow make it all better.

Myka sat down on the floor, leaning up against the couch that was near HG's location. HG shifter her body ever so slightly so that she could see Myka straight within her eye line. She noticed that the younger agent's book in hand was The Bible, it was not an artifact, it was just a plane old bible that belonged to Artie; well she assumed it was his.

"Ok now were was that passage," Myka opened up the book and started flipping pages, "Revelations twenty something, I think," she stopped flipping and began sliding her finger across a page, skimming it, "Ah here, Revelations twenty one verse six, and Grams you said I didn't pay attention in Sunday school, I always pay attention. '_And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.' _" She read aloud. "I am the beginning and end," she repeated, "meaning He is in existence throughout all time, but the only way that one can always 'be' is if they aren't hindered by the dimension of time, meaning they exist past our own dimensions, but can still pas through _our_ world.

HG closed her eyes as her headache throbbed harder, "Myka Darling, what are you going on about?"

"Now that other one," Myka started flipping again, "I know it was at the last supper. Here," she pointed again to another passage, she read, "'_And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'_ So the cup at the last supper held his blood, which has been established as being the begging and end, which means that, hopefully, the cup which held _Him_, would have had to been able to exist out of our dimension… I so hope," she pleaded that her logic worked.

Myka got up and sat herself at the desk that held the computer with the database on it. She typed in the name of the artifact, but nothing came up in her search, she growled at the words that read 'Artifact Not Found' on the screen, just as the door had opened to reveal Artie, Pete, and Claudia.

Myka spun around in her chair to look at them, "The Holy Grail," she stated and asked all in one. "Artie, The Holy Grail, do we have it? Does it even exist? Do you think HG could physically touch it out of phase?"

"The Holy Grail," Artie said to himself in deep contemplation, "I didn't even think of that" he muttered to himself.

"So it does exist?" Myka asked with hope in her wide eyes, "but it's not in the database."

"No it wouldn't be, something that high profile is kept undisclosed," he explained.

"Wooh so like the golden goblet that Indi's pops drinks from in the movie that heals up his gunshot wound, that cup is actually real?" Pete asked excitedly.

"Yes, well more or less."

"Well is it 'more' or is it 'less'?" he pressed on.

Artie looked at the room, wondering if he should even be talking about this artifact, let alone be explaining it in detail to them. After a moment in realization that it didn't matter the consequences when having one of his agent's life hanging in the balance, so he proceeded in an explanation, "If one is to drink a small amount of liquid from the grail it would cure their current poor-state-of-health; so 'more then less', to answer your question Pete. But if one decides to drink a full cup from it, they will have bestowed themselves with a significantly longer life." He trailed off into a mutter, as he talked into his hand while rubbing his beard, but they all still caught the last part.

"Define significantly longer?" Claudia asked with a little too much excitement in her tone that Artie didn't take well.

"Just significant, it doesn't matter," he spat out dismissing her inkling.

Before the young girl could press on to get more information Myka asked, "So if HG _can_ touch it, all she has to do is drink a small amount of… water, and she'll be Ok? Her eyes were wide staring at Artie, her facial expression reminding him of a little girl asking for a pony for her 5th birthday.

"Yah I think so Myka," he was glad to give her the answer that she so desperately needed to hear.

Myka's face broke into a smile, "So is the Grail here? Can we try it?"

Artie's expression went to an iffy tone, "Well it is here in the Warehouse, but it's…"

"In the Escher Vault," Mrs. Fredrick finished his sentence.

They all spun around to see her standing behind them, hands clasped behind her back, "Hey Mrs. F. didn't see you come in there." Pete hoped his smartass remark would warrant a smile from her, but of course all she did was glare at him.

Artie started in a bit of worry, "look Mrs. Fredrick, I know that I wasn't supposed to tell them about the Holy Grail but I felt it pertinent to…

She put her hand up to silence him, where he stopped immediately per her request, "Arthur, I do not disagree with your judgment of informing your agents and Miss. Donavon of this artifact."

"You don't?"

"No. that is why I brought this," she brought her other hand from behind her back to the front, revealing a simple metal goblet. It was dented up and very used looking with little to no shine left on it, if there was any to begin with. It had a short stem and wide base; the cup part itself could fit close to a cup and a half measurement within it.

"Holy Grail Batman!" Claudia replied, "Wait, that's it?" she said unimpressed after a closer examination.

"Yes. Why? What were you expecting?" Artie enquired, almost offended.

"Gold!" Both Pete and Claudia replied in unison.

"Oh, Hollywood has destroyed today's young minds," he grunted to himself.

Myka got up from her chair and walked over towards Mrs. Fredrick extending out her hand, "May I try?"

Mrs. Fredrick bowed her head in a nod, putting the cup in her hand. Myka grasped it and turned to snatch her half full water bottle off the desk that she was just at. Then she went to sit down with one butt cheek on the ground and her legs bent beside her in a mermaid position, near the spot that she had left HG. She extended her hand feeling for warm air, when her hand finally felt the other woman's body temperature, Myka pulled herself towards it. She put her hand that supported her weight down to rest, to where she guessed to be, on the other side of HG's body, she felt as though part of her arm was skimming through the other woman, for that it was significantly warmer. It was not just warmer to the rest of Myka's body but it was warmer than she could remember it being when she fell asleep with her earlier. "HG?" Myka asked in a nurturing voice, "I need you to reach out and grab this cup, OK?" she set the goblet down in front of the both of them.

"How does Myka know that she's there?" Claudia whispered to Pete.

Pete shrugged his shoulders and shook his head being just as confused as her.

Artie overheard Claudia's question but decided to explain his theory to her afterward; he was too invested in what Myka was doing, so much so that he was holding his breath in anticipation.

HG lay on her side, with Myka practically leaning into her abdomen with her arm falling through her hip. She blinked her eye's looking up at Myka and then to the artifact centimeters away from her chest. Her vision was still spotted in white as she slowly moved her arm to nudge the cup.

Myka's face broke into a grin as she saw the goblet disappear and reappear a centimeter away from were it had been. She spun her head around to the others, 'It works! Did you see that!" she turned back not waiting for a response from the others, as she grabbed her water bottle twisting the lid off to pore a tiny bit in the grail.

Both Mrs. Fredrick and Artie leaned in to make sure that the young agent didn't give her too much, but they seemed to be fine with the amount that she had pored.

Myka set the bottle away from her and asked again in the same tone as she used before, "Ok HG, you need to drink this now, it'll make you better I promise."

"No," HG groaned. Her head spun and her thought's were scattered, "I disserve this, I let you die. I left you alone and let you died," she rambled in confusion, "I don't want to choose my life over yours. I don't want to loose you again, over and over again. I can stop it this time my Christina. I can stop your death."

"HG?" Myka asked when nothing was happening. After a few more seconds she pressed on, eye's starting to moisten, "Helena?" her words trailed off as she mumbled, "Sweetie?"

HG looked up towards the voice, "Myka?" she said in bewilderment. She stretched out her arm to hover her shaky hand on Myka's cheek.

Myka let a few tears fall as she felt the other agent's hand on her face. She put up her own hand to trail down HG's arm using her heat as a reference, "You're burning up," she stated with fear. Her hand found its way to her head where she left it floating on, what she assumed would be, her cheek/ear area, "Helena you have to drink," she insisted.

HG looked to the side of her to see the Grail once again resting on the ground. With only Myka's instruction clear in her mind she moved her hand off of the brunette's cheek down to the goblet, where she grabbed it slowly bringing it to her lips, as she drank it carefully with her trembling hand, only spilling a little, due to her awkward position. The diminutive amount of liquid that slipped down the agent's throat felt more like a cold satisfying waterfall trickling its way through every part of her body all the way down to her fingers and tows. Her headache and visual snow diminished and her body felt loose and fantastic, as if she had just gotten an all over body massage, even her sore shoulder from the other day was healed. Her thirst and hunger were also nonexistent and her thoughts were clear once again. HG put down the cup were it, once again, was able to be seen by the agents in phase. She then sat up, putting her face right in front of Myka's as the younger agent's arm now fell through her lower ribs to rest behind her. "You did it, you saved me Myka," she said with a smile of pride towards her clever friend.

Myka grabbed up the Grail with both hands, looking down into it seeing the liquid now gone, she then felt two warm hand-sized patches on her cheeks, as a breath of air blew an unruly curl from her face.

"Wooh! Did you just see Myka's hair move?" Pete pointed towards his partner.

"It was HG wasn't it?" Claudia turned to Artie, "she's sharing the same climate with us isn't she?"

"Gold star Claudia," he responded with a smile.

She then turned to Pete, "I believe my gold star count is at eight, where yours is…hum," she put her finger to her mouth, as she pretended to ponder over it, "still two!" she exploded with a grin.

Pete made a scrunched up face at her in attempts to show her he didn't care, where he clearly did and wanted so badly to beat her to ten.

Myka started to scan the office when her eye's stopped on a table at the end of the room, she then looked to the group again, "hey Claud. can you pass me that pad of post-its over there along with a pencil, please?

"Yah, no probs," she crossed the room quickly as she snatched the pad off the desk and then thumbed through a drawer pulling out a pencil, showing it to Myka, where she got a nod of approval from her. She then went to Myka handing over the supplies.

"Thanks," Myka smiled, "I would give you a gold star but I have the feeling that mine don't count."

"No but I whish that they did," she replied.

Myka let out a little laugh towards the girl. She then let her attention fall to the objects in her hands. She threw the note pad into the cup, thankfully fitting all the way in, and then she snapped the pencil in half, tossing in the sharpened half into the cup as well. Without saying a word to explain her actions to HG, the British agent grabbed the cup, making it disappear in front of Myka's eyes. After a brief moment it reappeared on the ground with a single folded up piece of paper within it. Myka pulled it out and unfolded it, it read in beautiful cursive; _Myka my darling I am fine thanks to you,_ Her face lit up with a smile as she absentmindedly pulled the note close to her heart, "She's fine," Myka turned to the others as she spoke.

All the others smiled in relief on hearing that, including Mrs. Fredrick.

Myka looked back towards HG, "You're sure you're fine, you're not thirsty or hungry or anything?" After a moment the cup disappeared for a very brief moment, almost flickering, as another note was folded up inside. Myka pulled it out and read it aloud this time, "No, I really am fine, great actually," Myka smiled again as she looked up from the paper.

"Agent Wells I am glad to hear that you are alright, but unfortunately I can't very well leave the Holly Grail out of the Escher Vault for an extend period of time, so I am going to be taking it back. I will however return tomorrow so that you may have another drink to keep your dehydration at bay," Mrs. Fredrick informed.

Myka nodded sadly to her in understanding, as the caretaker started to approach them.

"Wait," Claudia threw up her hands to stop her, "Just one sec k," she ran to the other side of the room were her tool-belt hung on a hook, she dug something out and went to crouch beside Myka, "MP3 player," she held up the device to HG, "you know to help pass the time away, I mean you still have like two and a bit days to go," she put it in the cup.

Myka laughed. "Claud. I don't think HG well find your taste in music as enjoyable as the rest of us might," she nudged the girl playfully.

The cup disappeared and reappeared replacing the device with a note that read _'Thank you Claudia you're too sweet'._ "No see look," she shoves the note into her face, "she thinks me sweet," she said in a British accent.

"Oh I have something too," Pete chirped in as he searched his pockets, "now where did I put it? Ah, here," He pulled out a mini _World Puzzles Book_ full of word jumbles, crosswords, and sudokus. He then handed it to Myka to put into the cup. Myka looked down at it and let out a frustrated sigh.

"What? What's wrong Myka?" Claudia asked.

"Oh, no nothing, it's just I don't have anything to give her," she put the book in the cup as she then searched her pockets for something, anything. She then lifted her left hand out in front of her as she eyed her watch that her parents gave her for making valedictorian in university. She began unclasping if from her wrist.

"Wooh Myks you're gonna give her your watch?" Pete asked surprised.

"Yep," she put it gently in the goblet next to Pete's book.

"But you won't even let _me_ hold it," he questioned her actions.

"You only asked to hold it once, and when you did your fingers were full of peanut butter," she replied.

"I offered to clean them."

"Yah, well by that time I had already put it on my wrist. Oh and by the way wiping them on your shirt isn't cleaning them," she smiled at him, by the time she looked down to the cup it was already gone. After a moment it appeared back with Myka's watch still in it along with two notes folded up, one read '_Pete'_ and the other '_Myka'_.

Pete bent down to retrieve the notes, he handed Myka hers, without reading it and then read his aloud, "Thanks Pete." He looked to Claudia, "She likes it, she's thankful." Claudia gave him a weird look telling him that we were an oddball.

Myka opened her letter and read it silently; _'Myka I truly appreciate your gift, but I cannot accept it, for that I know the personal value of this watch and what a great deal it means to you.'_ Myka looked up to the empty spot in front of her, "yes it does mean a great deal to me, that's why when you're back you can return it to me," she smiled.

The cup then disappeared again, and after a couple minutes had passed the cup appeared again. The watch was no longer in it, but in its place laid a makeshift envelope that looked to be made up of the centre page of the puzzle book that Pete had given her, it had a bulge within it, and on top lay a folded up piece of paper that read _Myka_. Myka pulled out its contents and flipped open the note reading it silently; _'open later when you're not so heavily accompanied'_ After she was finished reading she slipped the note along with the envelope into her pocket for later.

"Wooh, wooh, you're not going to open it?" Pete asked.

"No," Myka got up and handed the grail to Mrs. Fredrick, "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you for rendering this potential disaster under control Agent Bering."

Myka smiled at the Warehouse's caretaker, and turned to the rest of the gang, "thanks guys for not giving up on HG… and me too, and for a… for putting up with my… not so pleasant mood" her eyes went big as she tilted her head in embarrassment.

Claudia went to Myka and slipped her arm around her shoulders, "its ok man, I mean when you got a little scary I was comforted by the fact that Pete was carrying the Tesla the entire time." Myka let out a laugh as she swung her arm around the girl's waist giving her a squeeze. "So dude I love you and all, but can we please go back to Leena's right now 'cause my bed is calling out my name?"

"I don't know Claud I don't really what to leave HG here all alone," Myka stated.

Pete came in behind the girls as he shoved his note from HG between them, "I didn't read all of my note to you."

Claudia grabbed it out of his hand and read it, making sure Myka could see it as well, "Thanks Pete and make sure Myka retires to her bed this evening; she is in need of a good nights sleep."

"So it's settled than, we're all going back to Leena's and we'll see… we'll communicate with HG tomorrow," Artie started pushing Pete, Myka, and Claudia out the door, "Thank you again Mrs. Fred…" he turned around in hopes of thanking his boss but realized that she had already did her freaky disappearing act, not that he was surprised.

"Bye HG," Claudia yelled over everyone's shoulders as she was being scooted out the door.

"We'll be back," Pete also added in a Schwarzenegger voice.

"Séjour sûr mon ami," Myka called out just as her body was pushed out the entrance quickly followed by the door closing behind her.

HG smiled and responded to the shut door, "Rester en sécurité mon un véritable ami," she then looked down to Myka's watch in her hand as she decided to put it on her wrist. It fit a little big, but she didn't care, it was perfect to her as it was perfect to Myka.

. 

"_Séjour sûr mon ami"_ *Stay safe my friend

"_Rester en sécurité mon un véritable ami"_ *Stay safe my one true friend


	8. Lecture VIII: Chores

Lecture VIII: Chores

The first thing Myka did when she walked into her room at the B&B was strip off her clothes, throwing what needed to go in the laundry hamper into it and the rest she flung on her bed, were she proceed to hop in the shower. She turned the water's temperature warmer than she usually enjoyed it, in hopes of using the massage setting on the nozzle to get all the kinks out of her neck and shoulders; sleeping without a pillow had always found a way of cramping her up, so she tried not making a habit of going without one. After she had finished her whole shower routine she decided to stay in the shower until all the hot water had run out. She was not particularly proud of herself for hogging all the house's hot water, but she figured that everyone else would probably shower in the later morning anyway.

After she finished up in the bathroom she went back into her room throwing on her pyjamas, cotton grey and blue striped pants and a matching solid blue tank-top. She then slunk down to sit on the side of her bed, half sitting on the clothes that she had discarded there earlier. Looking down to see what she was sitting on, she scotched her butt over revealing her jacket which had HG's envelope tucked inside. In realization of what she had just been crushing she shoved her hand into its pocket taking out the item. She held the makeshift envelope gently in her hand as she slowly began to peel the edges away, which were held together by tightly folded tabs. Myka's eyes grew wide as she gasped, "Oh my god," she slowly picked up HG's locket with her other hand in disbelief; examining it, "how could you? She's your Christina?" She then noticed a folded up note laying in the, now unfolded, envelope. Myka pulled out the post-it and discarded the word puzzle envelope on her bed; she unfolded the note and read it silently;

' "_Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth; the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence." –Democritus '_

Myka's eyes started to swell with moister, as a single tear escaped. "Damn you HG Wells; only you could quote an ancient Greek philosopher and make a girl cry," she huffed with a smirk as she wiped her eyes. She placed the note gently on her bedside table propping it up against her lamp; after admiring it for a few seconds she slid to the floor, resting her back against her bed, with HG's locket in hand. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she studied the locket closely with great intensity, as if she were about to be quizzed on it later that night. After she had looked it over a sufficient amount of times, she slid her thumb nail in-between the two panels of the locket in attempts to open it so that she could gaze upon the photo of Christina inside, but just as she was about to force it open she stopped herself. For some reason she didn't feel as if she had the right to look, even though she had seen the picture before; this time it felt wrong, so she just slipped the chain around her neck, and tucked the pendent into her shirt, as to protect it from the world around her knowing that HG entrusted her with the only thing on the planet that she loved.

Myka looked over her shoulder to her bed, but couldn't bring herself to sleeping in it that night, not when she knew HG was sleeping on the floor at the Warehouse, so she grabbed her pillow, tossing it on the ground beside her bed as she crawled over towards it and lowered herself down crashing her head into the soft cloudlike entity while she sprawled out on her back. She didn't dare grab a blanket for that she already felt guilty about the pillow. After she had let her body melt into the floor beneath her, she slipped her arms over her abdomen, remembering her sleeping position earlier that day with HG. She smiled in remembrance of the other agent's warmth within her body as she allowed sleep to take her over.

HG sat in the Warehouse office, tapping her foot and pencil in agitation as she had her word puzzle book open in her lap. She tried desperately to entertain herself, but the Warehouse was driving her mad, she had spent too much time in it already and was beginning to feel as she felt in the bronze sector. She then had a wicked idea of going into that particular sector just to stand in the same spot as some of the her old bronzed neighbors, just to snap them out of their practically comatose head spaces at the sensation of her newly introduced body heat, but she soon dismissed the idea, even that would bore her at this point, she needed to get out. "That's it!" HG threw her hands down to the ground as she flung herself up off the floor, "I'm getting out of here," she shoved her pencil and book into her pocket. She then put her laser tag vest, that was off to the side of the office, on as she then scooped up _The Orb of Artemis_ and shoved it into her vest in between her cleavage, she let out a little laugh at how silly she looked with a third breast, but for the first time in a long time; she didn't care, no one was going to see it. Finally she picked up Claudia's mp3 player and turned it on; lucky Claudia had let HG play around with it before, so she was already familiar enough with the controls. "Bloody hell!" HG winced at the booming heavy metal screaming through her ear-buds, she quickly turned down the volume, were she proceeded to find a band that she knew both Claudia and Myka enjoyed, grateful that she had remembered there name as she found it in the play list: _30 Seconds to Mars_, they were called, she picked the song _Echelon_, knowing that it was one of Myka's favorites. HG had tried to listen to it on an earlier occasion, but unfortunately she was being distracted by Pete as he was holding ferrite Pete whilst animating a voice for him like a marionette puppet so she wasn't able to hear it that well. As the song started to play HG phased through the door leading out of the Warehouse, mind set on walking her way to Leena's. She needed the exercise, the air, and, most importantly, the change of scenery.

When HG finally arrived at the B&B she felt great, the walk and fresh air were like a satisfying drug to her well being. She entered the house finding Leena up already at work in the kitchen preparing breakfast, everyone ells seemed to still be asleep. HG made her way upstairs going to her room to put the orb, mp3 player, and laser tag vest on the ground out of the way. She looked to her bed, wishing that she could collapse onto it without falling through it. She just sighed as she brought her hands to her head wiping her, now sleepy, eyes. Myka's watch slipped up her forearm at the position of her arm, which brought her thoughts to her younger friend. She then smiled wickedly deciding to spy on her. HG threw her hands behind her back, clasping them, as she almost skipped her way to the other agent's room.

She passed through her closed door, where she stopped near the entrance, letting her eyes adjust to the darker room. She spotted Myka curled up on the floor with only her pillow, "Oh, Myka darling what are you doing on the floor?" she smiled at her, "you were supposed to be resting comfortably in your bed," she made her way to the woman where she sat down next to her. She smiled at the sight of her locket's gold chain falling into the brunette's shirt, she had no idea how she had managed to trust anyone with her locket, which was the only physical thing she had left of her daughter, but there it was around Myka's neck, and she wasn't worried in the slightest. HG knew she would get it back safely. After a moment HG slid her body down to lie on her side, mirroring Myka's position just centimeters away from her. She watched the woman sleep, mesmerized by every curve, dimple, and freckle on her face, Myka was absolutely beautiful to her, and she wished that the younger woman could see herself through her eyes. After some time had passed HG blew gently on her friends face. Myka let out a little moan and twitched her head in response to it. HG repeated her action but this time Myka brought her hand up to her face, letting out another groan. HG laughed right before she ironically yawned whilst saying," Wake up my zombie Myka," she then blew out a final breath of air, harder than the others, on the hand that was covered her face. Myka twitched again, as she brought her hand down to rest on the ground, fluttering her eyes open. HG slid her hand in the one she had just dropped, as she blew away one of Myka's curls that was slowly sliding off her check about to fall into her face.

"HG," she smiled in a groggy, half awake voice, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the Warehouse." She asked obviously sill happy she was there.

"But you're not at the Warehouse darling," she said in a cheeky manner. She then bit her bottom lip as she ever so slowly put her hand through the other woman's hip moving it up leisurely to her shoulder, swooping it down and over her collar bone and up her neck.

Myka shivered at the movement of heat running up her body, "HG!" she squeaked while her face bore pure shock towards the other woman, but her eyes still emanated a smile of approval.

HG let out a laugh, "Darling, you're too easy."

Myka let her thoughts fall again to their sleeping arraignment from the day before. She then fell on her back trying to be as nonchalant as possible, to not alert HG to her obvious intensions. Unfortunately HG was too clever not to notice, "I've so got you wrapped around my finger," she teased prideful as she scotched her body into Myka's replicating the same position as before. Myka let out a little giggle as she crossed her arms around her stomach again, "or maybe it's you Myka, who has me wrapped around your finger?" she pondered as she started to fall asleep.

"Good night Helena," Myka whispered.

"Sweet dreams my darling Myka," HG sighed with a smile of comfort before falling asleep.

A half asleep Pete and Claudia dragged themselves into the sunroom where Artie was already sitting with a coffee and a plate that only held crumbs of whatever he had already eaten for breakfast. His nose was in the _Globe and Mail_ reading the stock section, he looked up to the both of them, "Oh good you're up," he then let his gaze fall back on the paper.

"Ah dude, yah we're up, you sent Leena to get us. Ya told her that you had something important for us to do," Claudia ground in annoyance and slight confusion.

"Yah I do," he answered not looking up.

"So? What?" Pete asked.

"Yah out with it ol' man," Claudia added.

Artie looked up at them, "Inventory," he said matter-of-factly as he went for a sip of coffee and then back to the stocks.

"Oh man," they both protested.

"Couldn't you let us sleep a bit longer?" Pete groaned.

"Yah, it's not like the Warehouse is going anywhere," Claudia pressed on as she sat down at the table next to him. Pete followed her lead and grabbed a seat too. 'The artifacts will still be there in a few more hours."

"Yah, no you guys are right. If you two want to go back to bed for a bit, go ahead," he didn't look at them.

"Really?" Claudia asked in skepticism.

"Hey, if you don't think inventory is that urgent, who am I to say otherwise?"

Claudia and Pete looked to on another with faces of disbelief, "You sure there Artie?" Pete asked eyes still on Claudia.

"Yah, yah go on."

Pete and Claudia smiled as the girl shrugged, liking the more understanding change in her boss. They both got up to leave in pursuit of their beds.

"Oh Claudia," Artie stopped her, again not looking up from his paper, "I believe this is yours," he pulled out one of her laser tag guns from his bag, that sat on the floor next to him, resting it on the table.

Claudia's and Pete's eyes grew wide as they glanced at it, then to each other; then back to it. Claudia closed the gap in-between her and the gun as swift as she could and snatched it off the table, "um, so I was thinking I'm actually not that tiered anymore, I think just physically getting out of bed has woken me up, so I…a, I'm gonna' head on over to the Warehouse and get started on that inventory…Yup," she spoke speedily at a high octave.

"Yah, me too," Pete chimed in.

"Uh-ha," Artie smiled behind his paper as the two skedaddled out the door.

HG awoke to a brightly sun lit room, it took her a few seconds to orient herself, but when she recognized Myka's room she smiled, as she rolled over on her side bringing her face right in front of the sleeping brunette's; she must have rolled out of her space during the night. The raven haired inventor leaned in to kiss the air where Myka's cheek lay, "Good morning my sleepy head," she said not moving her lips from her face. Myka didn't even stir to the air movement on her cheek, she was still sound asleep. HG pulled away as she picked herself up off the floor, she still felt great from the grail, although she was starting to feel a bit thirsty again, granted; she had just walked the distance from the Warehouse to the B&B. She let her gaze scan the area, like it always did when she entered the other agent's room. Myka's belonging always reminded her of her old life, books, a comfy reading chair next to a hearth, an always, tided, organized, and clean living area, and her framed photos of her family. Her things were living proof that even in the twenty first century there was at least one person which whom she could relate to. Once her eyes fell on the window, she decided to go to it; she crossed the room and fell still a short distance away, letting her eyes adjust to the higher exposure of light. Her gaze fell across the field outside the B&B that was bisected by a small river that ran towards and along side the town, and proceed all the way up into Canada. She sighed letting the beauty of the landscape absorb. Her thoughts fell quickly in remembrance to a particular field that her and her Christina used to ride their horses through. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized that she would never again have a picnic with her daughter followed by an afternoon of horseback riding. She then thought of all the things she would never do again with her like, crawling through the dirt to help her catch bugs, making a kite then waiting a whole week for a windy day to fly it, painting pictures together, reading mystery books to her before bedtime, hold her. Her tears fell harder as she fell to her knees in a sob holding herself in a hug; she was never going to hold her daughter again, her Christina. She slunk all the way to the ground, curling up as she cried her eyes dry.

After some time she noticed she could spot Myka on the other side of the bed, she had turned herself around in her sleep, so now she lay facing HG once again. HG looked to the other woman and the locket with Christina's photo enclosed, which had fallen out of the younger agent's shirt and now lay on the floor in front of her. At that moment she was truly grateful that she had given the necklace to her, she wanted her daughter's memory to live on when she herself could not. Myka was the only person to whom she could trust to keep her safe in this new world that they had found themselves in. With that thought resonating in her mind she got up and walked toward the door, stopping before it, "Myka," she turned to face her sleeping friend, "I must go now," she said gravely, "I do hope you can forgive me, for that I won't be able to return your watch to you per our agreement." She slowly moved back towards the other woman, making sure she could see her face, "Myka," her eyes started to swell up again, "If I fail you now, you have to stop me later," she practically pleaded. She gave a sniffle and left through the door, and out the building, leaving behind Myka, Christina, and the artifact that she needs to touch in less than three days in order to come back into phase.

Myka woke up with a strange feeling that something wasn't quite right. She took a few seconds to run over the last things that she could remember, she could recall HG coming to her in the middle of the night, _'or had that just been a dream,'_ she wondered, _'No'_ it had been real she thought on it a bit harder. She sat up and started feeling around her immediate vicinity for the other agent's body heat, "HG?" she called, "Hey HG, you here?" but she couldn't find a warm patch, and she didn't receive a blow of air on her face. She got up noting the time on her alarm clock, "It's already noon?" she said in disbelief at reading the time of 12:14pm. _'Maybe she just woke up before me and went downstairs,'_ she thought as she changed out of her pyjamas into her black pants and pink button up blouse. She left her room in a hurry skipping steps on her way down the stairs. She entered the common room and called out, "HG? HG are you here?" She stopped to give the other agent an opportunity to approach her and make her presents known, but nothing happened.

Leena walked into the room from the kitchen, "Myka?" she asked in such a way that questioned the woman's hollers.

Myka spun around to face her, Leena good, have you seen HG? Well not _seen _but you know what I mean." Her eye's looked a little panicked, but not as much as her aura had shown.

"No Myka, I thought she was at the Warehouse?"

"She was… maybe she went back," Myka considered to herself while responding to Leena's question. Myka looked around the room whilst listening for anything that would alert her to anyone ells in the house, "Where is everybody?"

"The Warehouse, Artie is supervising Pete and Claudia doing inventory."

Myka reached out and picked up the Farnsworth that Pete and her shared, it was sitting on the coffee table beside her. She flipped it open and called Artie. After a few buzzes he picked up, "Artie," she spat out before he could say anything, "is HG there with you?"

He looked at her baffled through the fish-tank lens of the Farnsworth, "Mrs. Fredrick told me this morning that she had gone back to Leena's to see you. She also said that she was going to bring the Grail there once you two had gotten up."

"She did come to see me, but now I can't find her… wait, how did Mrs. Fredrick know that she was with me?"

"Who really knows the mysterious ways of that woman?" Artie responded while leaning into his Farnsworth in a hushed tone, scared that she was listening in on there conversation. He then backed out further from the screen, "don't worry about it Myka, I'm sure she's fine, she's probably just out getting some fresh air or something, she'll be back, and when she is Mrs. Fredrick will show up, undoubtedly, and give her a drink, and all will be fine." He said in a reassuring tone with a smile to ease her worrying.

Myka let out a sigh and said, "Yah, you're probably right, I guess I'm just over reacting," she forced a smile, "Thanks Artie."

"No problem Myka," he held his smile, as she flipped her Farnsworth closed.

Her head told her that he was probably right, but something inside her was stirring saying otherwise.

Leena saw that Myka still bore an unsettled aura therefore she concluded that the best thing for the agent to do, while she waited for HG's return, was to preoccupy herself, "I was just about to go out in the garden to water and pull weeds, I know it's not the most glorified job, but if you wish to join me in the dirt, you are more than welcome." Leena smiled.

Myka thought on it for a second and agreed with a slight nod to her head.

"Good, I'll grab you some gloves and meet you out back than?"

Myka got up without a word and went to the back as instructed. The two girls worked in the garden for a couple hours, were HG failed to show up. After they had finished out in the back Leena got Myka to help her with the cleaning around the B&B, then later with preparing supper, all within that time; no HG. Artie, Pete, and Claudia came in for the night and ate supper, Myka couldn't bring herself to eat; she hadn't eaten in days, and Leena knew that, but decided not to press the issue with her. Myka excused herself from the table only a few minutes into the meal to retire to her room. There she peeled off her cloths and put her pyjamas back on before returning to her spot on the floor. It was very early for her to go to sleep, especially with the fact that she had gotten up at noon, but she didn't care. She lay on her back, pleading in her head that a warm body would fall though her and make everything better, but it never happened. Myka lay starring at the ceiling for about three hours, not flinching, until she finally shut her eyes and fell asleep.


	9. Lecture IX: Fate Is Not The Best DD

Lecture IX: Fate Is Not The Best DD

Myka sat on a bench in a park that was not too far away from Leena's, it was the same park that she found herself running through nearly every morning along the river. It was the middle of the night; the air was chilly enough that the agent could see her breath, the sky was completely clear from cloud coverage, the stars shone like diamonds scattering across a dark sapphire velvety background. What stole the show for Myka was the moon; there was a prominent sliver of pure white, glowing so harshly it muted all the stars around it. She stared up at the crescent above her, chin resting on her knees as she hugged her legs into her chest in attempts of keeping warm. Today was the night, the third day of the lunar cycle, the night HG could come back, all she had to do was touch the orb and it would transport her into there universe. It had been three days since Myka had communicated with the British agent, which had her worried more than she could bear. She was not only concerned, she was also angry; she didn't understand why HG would just abandon her like she did. Myka let out an agitated sigh towards the moon, "Where are you HG?" she cried out in frustration. The moon had been present in the sky for hours now, which scared her, a few hours more, it would fall out of the sky and she would have to wait until the next night for it to revisit, giving HG another opportunity to return, but that would be one more day without water for her. With that thought in mind Myka's forehead fell to her knees as she sobbed quietly. She hated herself for reacting as she did, she didn't want to feel so reliant on this other woman, this woman whom she barley knows. She thought she knew her, but she was kidding herself. If she truly knew her she would have known why HG was not with her at that very moment, sitting next to her on that same bench, _in_ phase. Why did Helena G. Wells haunt her every thought? Ever since Myka had met her childhood hero, she could never keep the other woman out of her mind. She'd never felt so connected to someone before, which had her terrified. Myka's body shook, not knowing if it was from her crying, or from the cold weather, or both, ether way she decided to head back to the B&B to try and get some sleep.

"No, no, no." Artie stammered in panic towards Claudia as she was tinkering with the network cables in the office at the Warehouse. She was about to unplug a DVI connector from the back of a computer tower, situated under Artie's desk.

"Yes, yes, yes," she responded in the same tone whilst pulling out the cord. The monitor on top of the desk flicked off.

"No what did you do?"

"Hold on a sec K"

She tinkered a bit more, "and voilà," Claudia plugged in two cords while grinning. Artie looked at the screen, "Voilà? Voilà what?" he gestured to what he was looking at.

Claudia shot him a confused look as she crawled out from under the desk to find the computer's power off. "Well that's not right."

"You think? I told you it was fine, but _no_ you had to disregard my words, again," he shot her a look, "and tamper with it."

Claudia put her finger up to interject whilst opening her mouth but was cut off by Artie's continuing rant.

"Just once would I like for my agents to do as they're supposed to, to check in when they're supposed to, to show up when they're supposed to, but _no_ she has to win over my people with her hazy outlook on the world, twisting them to her own ambiguous will only to let them down, to mope about and not eat, not sleep, she can't even concentrate while working… I never thought I'd see the day," Artie was now pacing unintentionally letting his true thoughts out.

"Why do I have this sneaking suspicion that we're not talking about me anymore?"

"I knew we couldn't trust her, just when I thought that maybe I… no." He couldn't bring himself to say the words that he had, indeed, begun to trust her.

"Maybe she has a good reason." The teen shrugged, "maybe something is up and she can't tell us. She could even be in trouble."

Artie turned to her with a flash of concern in his eyes, "Trouble? What kind of trouble; you thinking that something may of happened to the artifact on the other side?"

"I don't know. The thing that I don't understand is; why has she not contacted us?" I mean if something is wrong, why would she not just tell us?"

"Because she is an untrustworthy serpent," Artie's anger had gotten the best of him yet again. He was just fuming at how HG's disappearance was affecting Myka and the others, _hell,_ it was even affecting him.

Claudia, wanting to bring boiling Artie back down to his usual grumpy simmer, spat out, "so yah I'm just gonna change out these cables and get this bad boy back up an run'n."

He spun around to see her pulling out cables, "no, no, no just put everything back as it was, it worked just fine before."

"No, it barley worked before, I can make it work better, faster…"

"Not everything that's faster is better"

"You keep telling yourself that ol' man," she mumbled to herself.

"I heard that."

"Heard what?" Pete asked as he and Myka entered the room, calling it a day from there boring punishment of inventory. Pete hoped the heat would come off them for playing laser tag in the Warehouse soon, because he hated inventory.

"Nothing," Artie and Claudia said in unison.

"So Claud are you ready to go back to Leena's with us, or you gonna' stick around for a bit longer?"

"Oh she's not leaving until she fixes what she broke," he turned towards the redhead on the floor tangled up in cables.

"It's not broken," she informed the entire room.

Pete just let out a little laugh at her, "hey Artie, you should take one of her gold stars away for her misbehavior."

"Ha, ha very funny Pete," Claudia replied sarcastically, "You can't have stars taken away from you, that's not part of the rules."

"Really? 'cause I don't actually remember discussing the rules, so therefore no discussion, no rules!"

"It's simple socially etiquette. You don't give a gift then take it away on a later date; it's no longer yours to take back."

"No, no, no, little one. Gold stars are not a gift they are a representation of an outstanding job well done, like the stars of a general. A ranking military officer can be demoted therefore they lose a… say what? Star! That's right, they lose a star. Pete wins!" He starts dancing around the office in victory.

"Pete, I'm going to wait out in the car," Myka said stoically as she walked out the door, after punching in her code.

Pete stopped his dancing automatically at hearing her tone of voice, "I ah, guess I should be going then, I've got somewhere to be this evening anyway." Pete turned to Artie, "Good luck with that one," he used his head to gesture towards Claudia.

"Hey!" she said in a mock hurt voice. He just smiled at her as he slipped through the door to catch up with Myka.

She sat there starring at the back of the door; her head was filling with concerning thoughts of Myka and HG.

"Hey, hey," Artie snapped his fingers at her. She turned her head to him as he pointed to the cables surrounding her.

"Yah, yah," she let her attention fall back to the mess around her as she continued pulling the cords out from under the desk.

Artie rubbed his chin as he gazed upon the sight of the young girl, neck deep in wires, "oh my, this is not going to end well."

HG sat next to a pile of hay, which was situated to the side of a large barn door, looking over a field with a large paddock spreading across it. The enclosure held about twenty horses, three of them which were foals; two chestnut fillies and one grey colt. HG had stumbled across the ranch three days ago as she aimlessly walked away from Leena's; well in retrospect it wasn't entirely aimless for that she made sure to walk in the complete opposite direction as the Warehouse. The sun had already started to set creating a beautiful pink horizon, the crickets were already out making noise along with the frogs in the near by ditches. The moon was already faint in the sky, its crescent slightly bigger then the night before. HG had been sitting in that same spot all day, she had started to get the same dehydration symptoms as before, but to her surprise they came on a lot slower, she had a headache but it was no were near as perfuse as her other one had been, her legs just started cramping that morning, and she only had mild episodes of visual snow when rising to her feet, although she was still thirsty as hell its self. She assumed her slow onset of symptoms was solely due to her drink from the _Holly Grail_ some four days ago. She had finally found her peace, she had stayed away to let Myka live on in the world that she could no longer destroy. She had been restless the night before knowing that she could walk to Lenna's able to phase back with the orb, but she stood her ground and stayed away.

HG's eyes followed the two fillies chasseing each other in the field ahead of her, her face cracked a smile thinking back on her and her brother when they were young, fooling around in a similar manner, and of course, always getting into trouble for it, her more than him because, _'A lady should not be found horsing around like a boy'_ her mother would always remind her.

HG then recognized a familiar face approaching the paddock, it was Dr. Kelly_Hernandez. The familiarity of the woman brought HG back into the real world, she didn't even realize that she had let her mind shift so far away, but she had almost forgot that she was still alive, not cased in bronze, granted still out of phase, but non the less, still in the real world. The veterinarian along with the ranch's owner had made there way to the fillies; HG assumed she was there to check on the three foals and their mothers. After a few minutes the owner was called away by a stable hand and Kelly was left to continue her work alone. HG watched the pretty young woman slide a halter on one of the mares as she walked it to the fence, just meters away from HG, and tied her up as she examined her. She repeated this same task with all three mares and all three foals, as she was checking over the last filly, she, along with HG, looked up in response to a male's voice calling her name._

"Kelly!" Pete strode up through the barn with a basket in hand.

"Pete? What ate you doing here?" she asked with a surprised smile.

"Du-du-du-du," he mimicked a trumpet, "your dinner is served my lady," he spoke in a British accent while lifting the picnic-basket above his head.

"What?" she giggled with excitement.

"Well yah, you said you had to work late and couldn't make dinner tonight, so I decided to bring the food to you," he smiled as he walked up to her where they shared a harmless kiss, "don't worry, Leena put the basket together for us."

"Oh good, I was worried for a second there," she pinched his cheeks together making fish lips on his face as she shock his head gently side-to-side. They both laughed. "I'm almost done here."

"Good, then I'll just set up our feasting area," he said while walking towards the spot HG was sitting in. He stopped and spread the blanket, which was previously inside the basket, out next to HG about a meter to the side of her. He then proceeded to empty the contents of the basket out onto the blanket.

"Bloody hell, this is not happening," HG said in anger towards the agent next to her, "I just wanted to be in peace. Now one of my last memories will be of you and Kelly sharing a picnic in the company of horses." She turned away, "this is punishment," she then looked back to him, "this is supposed to be Christina and me, not you and her!" that time she yelled at him whilst pointing to Kelly. She let her body fall to the ground in hopelessness, wanting so badly for the two of them to leave, or in all reality, just him.

Kelly finished up in the paddock, letting the last foal out of his over sized halter to continue playing with the others. She grabbed up her instruments and put them into her bag before straddling a pole whilst ducking under another making her way through the centre gap of the fence. She walked over to Pete, putting her bag down beside the blanket, as she sat facing him. Pete's previous demeanor had fallen quiet as he pocked mindlessly at the potato salad with his plastic spork.

"Is everything all right there Petey?" the Spanish woman asked her boy friend.

"Yah, no I don't know, I was just thinking about Myka," he didn't lift his eyes from the salad.

HG's heart started to race at the sound of her dear friend's name, as she unconsciously grasped the agent's watch on her wrist.

"You know Pete, a girl could get jealous when her man talks about other women in front of her," she smiled knowing that she had nothing to worry about when it came to Myka.

"No," he looked at her seeing her smiling at him, "Oh," he said in realization that she was only teasing.

"Tell me about her," Kelly asked in honest concern.

"Well it's just that she's been really depressed lately, I don't think she's eaten in a week, last night she stays up all night watching the sky while sitting alone outside in the cold. I don't think I've heard her say more then a few words to me at a time, it's just… unbearable, you know? And I don't know what to do to make her feel better"

HG brought her two hands, one grasping the other still covering Myka's watch, into her chest as her body started to shake.

"That's horrible. Has something happened to make her act this way?"

"Ah yah," Pete answered as his eye's wandered from his girlfriend to the horses.

Kelly waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn't she pressed on, "so, what happened, if I may ask without overstepping my boundaries?"

Pete thought on it for a moment as to how he would explain the circumstance without actually '_explaining the circumstance'. _"Do you remember that new employee we got? The British woman."

"You mean Helena? Yes Pete I know who Helena is, we had a delightful conversation about loose tea, and how I grow my own. I even gave her some of my dried peppermint leaves last week, remember?"

"Oh yah," he smiled in recollection of the two women meeting on a few occasions, "I forgot, you guys were the Non-Teabag Ladies."

"Yes, that is what you so un-cleverly called us. Anyway, as you were saying about Helena"

"Right so she left last week… for holidays," he hoped that this was going to pan out, "yah holidays, and she was supposed to contact us like four days ago, but she hadn't, and her flight was supposed to get back yesterday evening, but her plane landed but she wasn't on it. So now Myka is really freaked out because she doesn't know where she is or if she's okay, hell we're all a little freaked out"

"Oh my gosh, that's terrible."

"Yup."

"They must be pretty close then?"

"Huh?"

"Myka and Helena, They must be pretty close?"

"Yah, they really are. I never quite understood it, but they kind of became best friends right off the hop."

"Like soul mates," she smiled in understanding, "I had a friend named Judy in jr. high that I became best friends with after a single conversation."

"So what, you think she was your soul mate?" Pete joked, "I thought I was your soul mate?" he grinned at her.

"Well I don't know, but I'm just saying I understand okay? Man sometimes you're so intolerable," she waked him playfully.

"Hey you didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"About me being your soul mate."

"You didn't ask a question you just said that you thought that you were my soul mate," she smiled and hit him again.

With that they started to laugh and throw food at one in other forgetting there previous conversation.

HG was still lying on the ground desperately trying to stop her tearless sob for her dear Myka. She didn't realize that her being away from Myka was just as tortures to the other agent as it was to herself. How could she put her through that? She needed to see her, be with her, she just _needed _her. HG picked herself up off the ground, her eyes speckled with visual snow, and her legs almost giving out underneath her, but she managed to steady herself as she moved her body around the two love-birds eating their picnic and through the barn, her heading was Myka, and there wasn't a thing in the world going to stop her from getting to her.

HG fumbled her way up the stairs in the B&B and into her room, the ten mile walk back, which took her well into the middle of the night, was nearly fatal to her health, she was gasping for air, her body shivered, she would have been sweating more profusely if her body had more hydration to secrete. Her vision was dim as she reached for the orb on the floor of the bedroom, she scooped it up were it glowed the same bright blue light as before, and with that she stumbled over in dizziness as she caught herself on her tall bedpost, she was back. She wasted no time, throwing the orb on her bed, before dragged herself to her off-suite bathroom, flicking on the lights before maneuvering herself into the bathtub, she then turned the faucet letting the cold water flow as she shoved her mouth under it drinking up the liquid. After a few big gulps she grabbed her stomach in pain as she vomited up a good portion of the water that she had just consumed, into the drain. She let the water clear her up chucked bile completely before she sank her head down beside the trickling water and curled up in the tub. She then sporadically took smaller sips of water, not wanting to throw up again.

It had been close to an hour and half of little sips of water until she finally pushed herself up into a sitting position. Still in the tub, she peeled off her clothes, put the stopper in the drain, and turned the cold water to warm as she let the tub fill. She, ever so slowly, began washing her hair, followed by shaving her legs and armpits. Her head still throbbed a bit; she so desperately wanted just to let the water out of the tub and fall over to sleep, but she kept pushing through her entire bathing routine knowing that once she was done she could go see Myka. HG had to perfect for her, she had to have washed hair, a luffaed body, smooth, just shaved legs with soft lavender scented body lotion all over. When she got out of the tub she even tweezed a few unwanted hairs around her eyebrows after she had brushed her teeth and applied her la-la-lavender antiperspirant.

Once she had finished up in the bathroom she walked into her dark bedroom with just a towel wrapped around her head, hair swept up within it. She didn't bother turning on the lights as she searched for her clothes. She slid on her underwear and a pair of black silk pyjama pants that Claudia had given her to sleep in, although this was actually the first time she had ever worn them for that she preferred sleeping in the nude. She then took of her towel from her head before putting on a deep purple muscle shirt, given to her by Myka; HG found herself wearing this shirt whenever she practiced her Kenpō in the park that was not far from Leena's. She took her brush which was lying on her bed, and ran it through her wet raven hair; afterwards she disposed of the hairs left in her brush into the garbage bin next to her. She opened the drawer to her bedside-table wanting to throw her brush inside, when she froze as her eyes fell on to a large manila envelope which lay inside, covering the bottom of the drawer. There it was, the thing she was willing to die for in order to never see again. She dropped her brush back on the bed as she slowly removed the envelope handling it as if it were an explosive, she read the receiver address in the middle, which was written in her own cursive;

_Jonathan Tillson_

_463 Mapleton Ave._

_Pittsburgh PA_

_15289_

The return address in the top left corner held a fake name and zip code, and a US postage stamp already lay on the opposite corner of the packet. Enclosed was information on the location of Warehouse Two along with some means of financing a dig, which she had apprehended illegally. The contents were intended for a bright young university student along with two of his classmates who were all studying to become archeologists.

Her eyes narrowed at the parchment in her hand furry burning in her dark orbs, she took the envelope to her window were she pushed it open, then chucked the letter outside, letting fate decide what was to come of it. Maybe someone would find it and put it in the mail, or maybe the wind would just take it into the river to be swept away never to be seen again, it didn't matter, it was now out of her hands. She moved away from the window a bit winded and her eyes failing her again due to her fast and abrupt movements, but she didn't care, all she had to do now was cross the hallway to Myka's room, and she could manage that in her current condition.

HG stumbled her way over to the other agent's door, where she opened it faster than she had intended to but still quite quietly. Her vision was incrementally narrowing as she strained to spot Myka in the room; she quickly found her lying on the floor right where she had left her nearly four days ago. Myka was asleep on her side with only her pillow just like before, HG moved quickly to her where she squatted to put both of her hands to the brunette's shoulders; swiftly pushed her back against the floor were she quickly straddled her hips before lowering herself onto her torso, sweeping her arms around her neck in a tight embrace. She gripped Myka like a lost child would grip their mother after being found. HG hid her face in the spot where Myka's shoulder and neck met, as she let her tears stream off her face onto the other woman's body.

Myka was jerked awake by something heavy on her body, it took her a few seconds to realize what was going on and who was on top of her, but when she smelt that familiar lavender scent and felt warm tears on her neck she knew right away who it was. She threw her hands around the mass atop of her and squeezed tight, "Helena!" she whispered, as the name came out of her mouth the burden she had been carrying those past few days had came off her shoulders. Her hand quickly found its way up to HG's head as she cupped it bringing her in closer as she turned her own head, bringing her lips down to her letting a kiss fall on top of her scalp. "Are you all right? Where have you been?" she asked worried and now also in tears, her anger towards HG's abandonment had dissipated, at that moment she was too over come with joy of having her back. After about a minute had passed and HG still remained shaking in her arms, not answering. Myka began stroking her head; her fingers falling through her damp locks, "Helena?" she asked again in a soothing voice, "talk to me," she managed to keep her tone relatively steady.

"I'm sorry Myka, I'm so sorry for everything," she answered in a shaky voice, not lifting her head, but rather burrowing it deeper into her friend.

"No, no it's fine; everything is going to be fine. I just need to know if you're all right," she tried to comfort her. Again she didn't answer, so Myka slid both of her hands to HG's face as she gently nudged it up, were HG willingly complied, as Myka led her head to the front of hers, now look at her straight in the eyes. Myka was shocked when her hands felt how gaunt her face had gotten; she could see that her eyes where sunken and a little bit droopy from exhaustion, her lips and cheeks were no longer there usual rosy pink colour but instead almost matched the rest of her pail skin, which seemed even whiter then normal, if that were even possible, but despite all that Myka's breath still caught in her thought as she was reminded of the other woman's beauty.

HG closed her eyes, embarrassed for letting Myka see her so weak, her tears slid out from under her shut eyelids. Myka brushed the tears away with her thumbs as she instructed, "Helena look at me please," her voice was still warm but also demanding. HG complied and opened her eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked again. HG looked into her glistening eyes, witch were searching her own for an answer. She wanted to tell Myka everything, but she couldn't, if she told her that she wasn't alright and why, Myka would surely leave her forever. She couldn't even bare the idea of being without her dear Myka, not now, not ever. Those emerald eyes pierced into her soul waiting for her answer, _'damn it!'_ she screamed in her head, she couldn't tell her the truth but she still couldn't lie to her either, not while looking right into those angelic eyes of hers. There was only one thing she could do, _run_. She pulled out of Myka's grasp as she lifted herself up off of her, her tears fell with more intensity as she bee-lined her way towards the door whilst quickly saying, "I should retire to my own bed and get some rest, and leave you to get yours as well." She slipped out shutting the door quickly behind her.

"Helena, wait!" Myka called from within her room. HG ignored her as she tried making the space between her and Myka as great as possible; she hurried down the stairs and out the door in her bare feet. She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't let her so she had to settle for a quick walk, her vision started to dim as she struggled for breath, but she didn't care she kept on until she finally veered off the sidewalk into the grass as she collapsed to her knees; her virago getting the best of her. She let her head hang as she caught her breath and let the world around her stop spinning. She finally looked up where her eyes fell onto a familiar sight, "No! Get away from me!" she screamed eyes full of furry at the manila envelope which lay in the grass about a meter away. "Why? Why do you taunt me so?" tears of anger came streaming down her face. She crawled over to the letter and aggressively snatched it as she lifted herself off the ground, when she was upright a head rush came over her again, She stumbled around looking for something to lean on, she found something that, she assumed, would suffice in her ever so quickly fading sight, so she moved to it and grasped it tight as she steadied her body. After her vision and balance returned she leaned her body away from the object, noticing that it was a blue _US Post_ mail box, her gaze fell to the envelope still in her hand. She let out a huge sigh of defeat as she calmly opened the box and dropped the letter inside. She let her body fall to the box once again as she wept.

After sometime had passed she pulled herself together and walked back to the B&B, when she made her way to her bedroom door, she hesitated going inside, instead she turned her back to the door and gazed at Myka's. She so desperately wanted to go inside the room to hold her like she had done earlier, but she couldn't, She failed Myka and was not worthy of her. HG slid the other agents watch off her wrist as she examined it, not wanting to separate herself from it, but she had to. She walked over to Myka's door and clasped the band around her doorknob whilst leaning her head into her shut door, "I'm sorry my dear Myka," she whispered before backing away disappearing into her own room.


	10. Lecture X: Welcome Home Parties

Lecture X: Welcome Home Parties

Myka lay in her bed tossing and turning in anger and frustration. She wanted answers; she wanted to know where HG had been, why she left, why she couldn't tell her when she asked, and why she herself felt so frazzled by the whole situation. Myka shoved her face into her pillow as she let out a loud growl of anger, whilst punching her mattress on ether side of her body. "That's it," Myka said as she flung the sheets off of her whilst standing up from her bed, mind set on getting her the truth. She moved to her door and opened it quite aggressively, where she herd a knocking sound coming from her door handle. She turned around and found her watch swaying back and forth on the outer knob of her door. With that vision the pent up aggression in her body seemed to have drained as sadness crept in. She gently reached for her possession, unhinging it from its current resting place. Her eyes started to swell as she felt that HG had somehow betrayed her for returning the watch to her, even though it was their agreement for her to do so. Myka was confused to why she felt that way. She almost wished that HG would have held the item so dear to her that she would refuse to part with it, or something, anything, but not this; not her giving it back to her like this. Myka couldn't bring herself to put the watch back on her wrist so she just chucked it inside her room onto her bed; her choice of literally throwing it shocked her, it was almost as if HG's rejection of the watch had devalued the sentiment of it. With that change in mindset she felt as though she was in no state to seek out answers from the other woman that night so she changed her heading to go downstairs and seek out Leena in her room.

Myka softly knocked on the innkeepers door on the main floor, she was shocked at the woman's quick response to the knock, she opened the door while tying her robe, "Myka," she didn't sound as shocked as Myka was expecting.

"Hey Leena, sorry to wake you but um…well HG is back and I was wondering if you could, you know check up on her?"

"Yeah, no of course," she answered right away, "How is she?" Her eyes were full of concern, mostly from seeing the worried agent's aura which was practically blinding her.

"um…," Myka searched her head for an answer but really didn't have one, "she's okay, I think."

Leena smiled sympathetically at her, "Where is she now?"

"Oh, she's in her room, but when you go up there can you ah… can you not say that I sent you." Myka asked not looking at the woman but instead looking down to her bare tows.

"I'm pretty sure I left my laundry basket full of linens in her room, I'm going to need it this morning if I plan to do a loud before I start breakfast," she smiled at Myka.

Myka smiled back after lifting her head to look at her," Thanks Leena." Myka then turned to exit back to her own room, leaving to let Leena get dressed for the day.

Myka climbed the stairs to the second floor, hoping that the knowledge of Leena going into look after HG would be enough for her to feel an adequate amount of relief so that she could get some sleep for herself. She stopped before entering her room, letting the thought of leaving HG's necklace on her door like she had done with her watch, enter her mind, but she quickly dismissed the thought, not wanting Leena or anyone ells to discover it before HG did, therefore she just passed the other agent's door; going into her own room.

"Wow, you're up late," Claudia said to Artie as she closed her bedroom door behind her entering the upstairs hallway at Leena's.

Her boss turned around, as he was about to descend the stairs, giving her a confused look; his gaze then fell to his watch, "It's seven fifteen," he said as if it weren't that odd.

"Yeah, I know, by this time you've already consumed two cups of coffee, checked the entire glob for any pings and caught up on that Russian soup of yours… Bednaya Nastya I believe it was called."

Artie's eyes grew in shock at her mention of the show, "I don't watch soup operas Claudia, I was doing research for something." He started nattering.

"Oh research!" she smiled, "Is that why you downloaded all two seasons of it, for research?" she skipped past him and scurried down the stairs, where he followed closely after her.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not watching those silly shows about reanimated corpses that are trying to eat living human tissue, do you know how ridicules that is, I mean if…" Artie abruptly stopped where Claudia had already done so, both of them looking into the common room in disbelief. There sat HG in a big armchair curled up with a blanket around her, with a glass of water in hand. A plate sat in front of her with a scone missing a bite out of it. Leena sat on the coach next to her, obviously seeing to the agents every need.

"HG!" Claudia called out with a smile as she ran toward her, she almost went in for a hug, but the truth was that the woman still kind of scared her a bit so she just stopped in front of her clasping her hands whilst rocking up and down on the balls of her feet in attempts to contain her pent up excitement.

"Hello Claudia," HG greeted her with a genuine smile, "I am so very glad to see you on this fair morning."

"Hey that's what I was gonna say to you, but not so proper and British charming like, of course."

"No, but I'm sure you would have used that lovely American charm of your instead, granted you would have risked the chance of me not understanding it," she still kept her smile on the girl.

"Oh HG, I totally know that you're picking up what I'm dropping all the time."

HG almost let out a laugh at the fact that the teen used one of her many modern colloquialisms to prove her point.

"So, where've ya been? We've all been super worried about you there" Claudia gently nudged the women in her shoulder feeling a lot more comfortable with her.

"Yes, yes where have you been?" Artie fully entered into the room, anger in his voice. He asked her as if she was his daughter who didn't get back home until the morning after her prom night. He had lost so much sleep over the nights racking his brain of all the possibilities of what could have happened to her.

"I'm sorry Artie," she began to explain ever so calmly, "That night that I had a drink from the grail I had gone out for a walk, you know just to get away for a bit, and… "

"You walked here to see Myka," he stated in attempts of getting this story rolling faster.

HG looked down to the cup in her hand letting out a little sigh before answering, "Right." It was obvious to all that she meant to skip over that particular detail in her story. "So after I came back here and rested for a bit, I continued on for another walk, leaving in the early morn, just to abide my time of course. Well I must have walked further than anticipated for that when I finally stopped and took my rest for the night; I was quite a fair distance away from both Leena's and the Warehouse."

"A fair distance," Artie repeated in suspicion, as she was probably somewhere that she shouldn't have been, not that could think of anyplace within walking distance that would raise any alarm. "Where were you?" he demanded.

HG took to his barks a lot better than Claudia was, for the teen was slowly backing away from the two agents as Artie was gradually closing the gap between them.

"Oh Artie do be rational," HG almost scolded him reminding everyone that she was the elder in the room. "I was staying at a horse ranch just up _Garden Road_."

"The Tate's ranch?" Leena asked.

HG looked to the innkeeper, "Yes." She was very glad that that had been the first question the clairvoyant woman had asked her all morning pertaining to her disappearance. Leena had respected her secrecy and never once pried for answers. HG had grown to appreciate her very much in the past few weeks of knowing her.

"The Tate's are quite a ways away," Leena told Artie whilst giving him a look that told him to calm down a bit.

"So what, are you telling me it took you three days to walk back?" his frustration was still awry, but the constant glare that Leena was shooting him was slowly bringing him back to centre.

"No," HG began again, still rather calmly, "I'm afraid I had circum to delirium and was a bit… shall I say, confused. It had taken awhile for me to gain some clarity which told me to head back here." She smiled hopping he believed her, not that there wasn't a false word in her story, merely voided out intensions.

Artie let out a sigh as his hard facial expression softened, he didn't quite know what to make of the situation, but he had definitely relaxed after hearing her explanation, "so are you okay than?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Yes, thanks to Leena, she is a blessing," HG smiled at the woman, were she received one in return.

"Good, good," he let a smile cross his face for the fist time since he had seen the other woman. He started his way to the kitchen in search of a cup of coffee.

Claudia looked to HG with a big grin plastered across her face. She stood there for a moment then turned slowly around to head to the sunroom knowing that there would be fresh scones waiting for her on a platter. "What, no hug?" HG put on a pout for the teens benefit.

Claudia squeaked with joy as she spun around and thrust herself into HG's personal space to give her a squeeze, she then tore herself away as fast as she had got there and made her way out of the room. HG let out a little laugh at the girl before taking a sip of her water.

"Hey Myks, what'cha doing?" Pete asked as he started making his way down the steps, his mind set on food.

Myka spun her head around as she placed her index finger to her lips as she shushed him. She was sitting halfway up the stairs; she had been intently listening to the conversation between HG and the others. She so desperately wanted to know what had come of her, but she didn't have the nerve right then to peruse the truth on her own, she didn't even think that she could face her at all at that moment. Myka stood up and turned to Pete where she spoke quietly, "I'm going into town for a bit, I'll meet you at the Warehouse to continue our inventory." She didn't wait for a reply from him, instead she bee-lined it out the door, not giving anyone the chance to stop her.

Pete made his way down into the foyer as he heard tires to gravel; he then turned his head where he spotted HG who had seemed to have seen Myka's quick escape as well, she still sat in her chair, but her body was sitting up straight and stiff, eyes out the window, watching the SUV driving off. "Oh," Pete kept his eyes on her, "I should have known," he mumbled to himself. His gaze fell to Leena, still sitting on the couch; he flung his head back gesturing to the library behind him, after making eye contact with her. She nodded to him where he slipped out of sight into the other room unnoticed by HG, who was still peering out the window.

"Hey," Leena placed a hand on HG's knee as she spoke, "I'll be right back. Call if you need anything." HG just nodded in understanding, not taking her eyes off the window. Leena got up and made her way to the library to explain everything to Pete. Once she was done summarizing what had happened that morning, leaving out the part were Myka had gone to her asking her for help; Pete had admitted to himself of having an odd vibe towards the story, but it was no more odd then any other vibes HG had usually sent his way, so he let the story suffice him for the time being as he made his way into the living room to welcome the agent back.

Myka sat at a table next to a big window in the one and only diner in all of Univille, with a small bowl of porridge in font of her. It had been the first thing she had eaten in a long time, but her stomach must have shrunk quite a bit for that she could only finish half of it. She had HG's locket out on the table in front of her as she mindlessly played with it. She had not put her watch on that day; she didn't feel as she had the right to wear it since she had not given the necklace back yet. After deciding that she could eat no more, she slipped the gold chain of the pendant around her neck, tucking it into her shirt, as she got up throwing a ten down on the table, knowing she was way over tipping, but she didn't want to wait around to get change back. She left with her mind now focused on a day of inventory.

Pete and Myka stood in an isle at the Warehouse; Pete was checking the shelves for the artifacts that Myka was citing off from a list in hand.

"The _Soul _of _Dr. Faustus_?" Myka read.

Pete looked to a sealed jar with an enclosed flame burning wildly inside, the flame soon turned into the shape of a face,"Ah!" Pete jumped back, "Ah, check," he told Myka in a freaked out voice, "can we not do inventory in the extra scary sections of the Warehouse?"

"All the sections have to be done, no matter what the contents of them are," she said not looking up from her list. "The _Head_ of the _Headless Horseman_?"

Pete made a discussed face while looking at it, "check." He spun around to look at Myka, "How is a head possibly an artifact?"

Myka disregarded his question and continued on, "_Salem's Noose_?"

Pete side glanced the shelf behind him, twisting his torso to see, "Check." His gaze then fell back to Myka. "You want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" her eye's not lifting off the list, "_The Pin of Oedipus_?"

"Like the one he used to gauge out his own eyes with?" He shivered at the image when it formed in his mind. He glanced again behind him, "Check," he turned back to face her, "and I'm talking about HG, have you even talked to her since she's come back?"

Myka's neck went tense as she cocked her head to the side, "_The Sacrificial Knife_ of the _Bacchae_?" She continued reading.

"Myka?" Pete pressed on, "you know it's Okay to be angry with her, she did leave, not telling us where she was or if she was coming back."

"I never said I was mad."

"No but that bone popping out from the side of your neck did," he tried mimicking her head's position but failed miserably, just looking silly in the process.

She couldn't help but smile at him, "I'm just frustrated that she can't give more information then, 'I walked really far, then lost my head'."

"Hey if she needs of an extra one, there's one right here," he pointed to the _Horseman's Head_.

Myka let out a little laugh at him, glad that she had someone to cheer her up.

"There's something I think you should know Myka."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I was at Tate's ranch with Kelly in the evening yesterday."

"You were?" She asked a little shocked.

"Yeah, and I may have mentioned your… mood to Kelly."

"You did what?" she asked a bit harshly.

"Well you were all moppy and stuff and I just kind of found myself telling Kelly about it. I'm sorry Okay." Myka let out a frustrated growl. Pete decided to just push on with his story, "but I was thinking that maybe HG heard us talking, I really stress the word _maybe_ here, 'cause that ranch is pretty big, and she may have not even seen us, or maybe she even had left before I had gotten there."

"What exactly did you say about me?"

"I don't quite remember, something about you not eating, and not talking, and not sleeping properly, and stuff like that." Myka's eyes fell to her list again, not that she was reading it this time, "Maybe that's what gave her that _'moment of clarity to come back' _that she was talking about earlier."

"You don't really believe that," she said not lifting her eyes her voice was so frail, he almost didn't hear her.

"Trust me Myka; if I didn't believe the possibility of it being true, I would have never of mentioned it."

With that she raised her head as she found her voice back and asked, "How about we say we call it a day?"

"Ah, yes please," Pete was ecstatic at the notion.

Myka forced a smile, "Okay then," she started down the aisle towards the office, where Pete looked to _The Soul of Dr. Faustus_ again, seeing if the flame was still looking at him, when it started to shift into a face once more, he turned and ran scared as he caught up with Myka.

They all sat at the table for dinner that night, HG had helped Leena a little in the kitchen, as her strength was slowly coming back to her. Artie insisted that she not leave the B&B until Leena had given the green light for her to return to her normal duties. HG had joined into the many conversations at the table; everyone seemed to have forgotten her earlier absence and were treating her as Myka had always wished they would treat her, like a part of the family. Myka, however, did not forget what that woman had put her through; that she had abandoned her not once but twice, including her episode from the night before, it was all driving her emotions wild inside of her. What really fueled her fire was the fact that not once did HG look at her the entire meal, she was treating her as if she weren't even there. How dare she ignore her, Pete must have been wrong, HG never came back for her. Myka, angry and frustrated, abruptly got up from the table and walked out the back door. The conversation stopped, as they were interrupted by her rude departure.

"I better go talk to her," Pete started to pull his chair back.

"No Pete," HG lifter her hand to him, "Allow me."

Pete nodded glad that she volunteered; they both knew it was about her anyway, and the only one who could fix it was her. She rose up from the table and walked out the door following after Myka.

Myka was standing near the river at the edge of the property, hands crossed over her chest as she stared up at the sky.

"Myka," HG spoke as she approached her.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly as her gaze fell to her.

"I wanted to see if you were all right," her voice sounding a bit hurt from Myka's tone.

"If _I _am all right?" her voice started to become louder, "You want to know if _I_ am all right? No, you've already forfeit the right to ask me that question when you refused to answer it when I asked you"

"Look Myka I am sorry…"

"No, I don't want to hear how sorry you are," Myka was shouting now, "I want you to tell me why you left." She locked eyes with her waiting for an answer.

"I told Artie tha…"

"No you told Artie nothing, besides I'm not asking you what you told him, I'm asking you to tell me, here and now, to my face, Why? Why did you leave? I know there's something you're not telling us, and I can't let if go like they apparently can," she pointed to the house, "I need to know."

"I could never lie to you Myka." She said as her eyes filling with tears. "That is why I cannot give you the answers in which you seek."

"So there is something that you're hiding?" tears started to flow down her cheeks, she didn't bother to wipe them. She stared into HG's black orbs as she saw them leaking tears as well.

"I… I …" HG stammered for something to say but couldn't find the words.

"Yeah!" Myka quickly removed the locket from her neck and stepped to her grabbing up HG's hand as she thrust the necklace into it so hard that HG let out a whimper of pain, "That's what I thought," she pushed past her purposely bumping her shoulder almost knocking her to the ground as she stomped her way back into the house.

HG sank to her knees as she let her tears turn into a full on sob, hating herself for ruining everything, for mailing that stupid letter, for not trusting Myka completely, her own fear of losing the woman had caused her to make choices that were driving her away anyway. Damn she hated herself for crying, she was so tiered of crying. Why could she not just stop herself from getting into circumstances that led her to tears?


	11. Lecture Canceled

Lecture Canceled

Two day later HG had been permitted to join the others at the Warehouse to help with the inventory. Within those days HG and Myka had not spoken a word to one another, they avoided each other at all costs.

Artie was so glad that he had not received a ping in almost two weeks now, for that they were getting a lot of inventory done, and the best part for him was that he didn't hear them complaining due to them assuming it was merely punishment for playing in the Warehouse, but in all honesty, they would have been doing it no matter what during this pingless lull.

Myka and Pete continued the section that they had abandoned the day before, were HG assisted Claudia with a different section, far from the other two. Claudia and HG were actually having a relatively good time, Claudia was talking about her newest project were HG interjected ideas here and there for her. The teen was flabbergasted that _The_ _HG Wells_ was brain storming ideas with her. After many hours had passed, HG excused herself to go to the washroom, were she decided to take a detour through the _Ancient Japanese_ section. She searched the shelves until she stopped with a smile; she swiped an artifact from its place and tucked it under her jacket as she proceeded towards the bathroom to stash it away temporarily until she could pick it up at the end of their working day; which was fast approaching.

"Man you take a long time to pee. I'd thought with not having a corset and bustle, you'd be quick like Sonic the Hedgehog," Claudia turned from the shelf that she was just check listing to HG.

"Claudia?" She spook in udder shocked, "I can't believe you just said that word."

"What 'pee' or 'hedgehog'?"

"The former."

Claudia let out a laugh, "Oh come on there H, I've heard you say some pretty dirty things… well not so much dirty, but very un-Victorian like."

"Never pertaining to matters of the toilet."

"So you're saying that it's okay to say things that pertain to… well you know what, but you can't say things relating to the bathroom?"

"Right."

"But how is one any worse then the other?"

"Well I don't know," she pondered on it a bit, "huh, it actually doesn't make much sense, does it?"

Claudia shook her head as a response, glad that the woman was seeing things her way because the last thing she wanted to do was offend the agent from another century.

"Claudia you always find a way to shine a light on the inane things in life," she smiled as she was impressed.

"Is that a complement, 'cause I'm taking it as one," she smirked back at her.

"Yes of course that was a complement," her smile turned into a grin.

"Sweet!" Claudia fist pounded the air above her.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's all the excitement about?" Pete passed the corner into their isle.

"Nothing," the girls replied about to burst out into laughter.

"Why do you people always say that? Sometimes Pete wants to know the funnies."

"It's nothing man, honestly," Claudia threw her arm around Pete's shoulder and patted it, "So what brings you to our neck of the Warehouse?"

"It's five o'clock…"

"It's quittin' time," Claudia joined Pete as they spoke together in excitement before spirit fingering each other's hands, in a weird variation of a high-five whilst making sound effects with their tongues.

HG just shook her head with a smirk at the pair, they were like little children. After a few seconds she realized that, as much as she enjoyed their immature behavior that never ceased to entertain her, she missed the company of a mature adult in which she could have actual insightful conversations with, she missed talking to someone about anything and everything, who understood her literary references and just simply shared the same passion for books; she missed Myka.

"Where's Myka?" HG asked in such a way that reminded Claudia of a little kid asking where their family pet was after their parents had just put it down.

"Oh she ah, already left; she wanted to get back quickly to finish up some paperwork or something. You know Myka, always keen to get organized," It was evident to both girls that Pete was trying to cover her real intensions for ducking out early.

HG plastered on a fake smile as she responded with, "Oh yes, I see, very well, shall we go then?"

Pete and Claudia shared a quick sympathetic glance at the other on HG's behalf, not letting her see the exchange. "Yup," Claudia spoke, "I say we shall." With that they left for the office.

Before leaving for Leena's HG excused herself to go to the washroom again, blaming it on drinking too much tea when Claudia started to bring up the fact that she had just gone. In the bathroom she slipped the artifact out from behind the toilet, where she had left it earlier, and tucked it into the back of her pants while hiding the majority of it under her jacket as it lay flat against her lower back. She then joined Pete, Claudia, and Artie on the ride back to Leena's, not that Artie was happy about chauffeuring them all, especially when Claudia played with the radio dials, but he understood why Myka had gone ahead with the other vehicle. "It's a short drive," Artie mumbled to himself as they all climbed in. He was at least grateful that Myka left him the SUV, because he couldn't imagine them all squishing into his convertible.

The gang all ate supper that evening together, excluding Myka, it had been the second night in a row she had not eaten with them, she had brought some food up into her room where she locked herself away for the evening, usually reading, escaping into another universe in great literature. HG helped Leena with washing the dishes after their dinner, not that she necessarily liked the task, but she enjoyed Leena's company.

"Hey Leena, HG," Claudia poked her head into the kitchen, "Pete and I are thinking The Princess Bride tonight, I mean since the last time we tried watching it, it was a huge-mundo failure. You guys in?"

"I don't know. Is it any good?" Leena inquired.

"You haven't seen it before?" HG looked to her almost surprised; assuming that everyone from the twenty first century had previewed it at some point or another.

"No."

"Leena!" Claudia's eyes her wide in shock, "How the hey have you been living under the same roof as Pete, Myka, and me and not seen The Princess Bride?"

"Claudia, I haven't seen a lot of movies," she said matter-of-factly.

"That's it! You, young lady, are watching it with us, no discussion!" she pointed to her as if she were her own child scolding her for misconduct. Both Leena and HG smiled at the girl.

"Okay, okay Claudia, you win. I just have to finish up in here first"

"Yes!" Claudia cheered. "HG, you in too?" She peered at her slyly as she bounced her eyebrows up and down in good fun.

"Ah…" HG hesitated as she only wanted to accept if Myka were to join them as well, "sure," she said for that was really the only answer she could give with the girl eyeing her with as much enthusiasm as she was.

Leena noticed HG's indecisiveness and asked on her behalf, "Is Myka joining us too?"

"Nope," Pete answered as he walked into the room, "she's too busy with her nose in a book, and Artie said he was going into to town to…" He scratched his head as he thought on what his boss had said what he was doing there, but he just plain forgot, all he knew was that it wasn't interesting enough for him to remember, "to do something." He shrugged his shoulders as his attention shifted to his stomach, "hey Leena do we have any popcorn?"

"Yes, we should, it'd be on the top shelf in the pantry."

Pete began to move his way to the instructed location. HG took the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen unnoticed with everyone distracted by Pete, as she noticed the setting sun through the window above the sink. She made her way up to Myka's room but first making a quick pit-stop to her own room as she grabbed the artifact that she had lifted from the Warehouse earlier that day.

HG paused outside of Myka's room as she briefly waited for the artifact to gain a slight orange shimmering glow, once it appeared she slowly opened her door, she didn't bother knocking which was very unlike her, but she feared that Myka would refuse her entry, or somehow unknowingly psych her out from using the artifact. When she entered the room she saw Myka sitting on a chair next to her fireplace, book in hand. She glanced over the top of the novel for a brief moment, where she let out a huff of annoyance to her guest, then let her eyes fall back on the page, in a hopeless cause of ignoring her. HG closed the door behind her as she took out the artifact that she was concealing behind her back; it was a four-point ninja throwing star. It was a simple object consisting of two double edged blades crossed over forming an 'x' that was fused together in the middle. It was brown from centuries of rust and about the size of ones hand, although it still had that sunset glow around it. HG reached to a nearby shelf and placed the artifact giving it a good spin, not unlike a top. When she let go the orange shimmer grew to create a full bubble encompassing the two women and about two thirds of the room, the artifact continued to spin in, what looked like, slow motion right outside of the orange energy dome.

"What the heck!" Myka jumped up off her seat, "What did you do?" she searched for her gun wanting to point it at the other woman, but realized it was on the other side of the room.

"Calm down Myka, it's alright," HG put her hands up peacefully.

"Calm down? There is a wired orange field thing around us," she spat out.

"Yes there is."

"Why? Where's it coming from?"

"From that," HG pointed to the artifact spinning on her shelf.

Myka slowly walked to the edge of the field squinting her eyes at the slow moving object on her shelf, "is that a shuriken?"

"Yes," HG almost laughed at the fact that she had used the propped name for the throwing star.

Myka turned back to her, "What? Why?" she asked, her nerves a little calmer, she knew whatever it was, it wasn't going to harm them, she trusted HG enough to know that.

"Well it's the _Shuriken of the Togakure-ryū_ which translates to_ The School of the Hidden_ _Door_"

"Okay…"

"So this was said to be _the_ first ninja school, founded by Daisuke Nishina during the Oho period in Japan. There the four-point throwing star was created, but the first had a certain ability that the others did not. There are many legends that try to explain the reason for this, but they are all so vastly different, so nobody really knows which one is the true tail."

"So what does it do?"

"The spinning shuriken creates a bubble that slows time within it."

Myka shot her an odd look, as to ask what the purpose of that would be.

"So if two students wanted to become more proficient fighters, they would enter the time differential field, and have literally more time in the day to become greater."

"How long does the field last?"

"Until the star falls flat from its spin in regular time."

"So seconds outside of the bubble would be minutes inside." Myka stated in understanding.

"Right, like the time that passes in the dream world opposed to the real world. The school was said to manipulate the star by using magnets so the time field would last longer."

"Why wouldn't they just re-spin it when it fell?"

"Because the field can only be initiated when the artifact glows orange, and it only does that during the in-between times of the day."

"Down and dusk," Myka interjected.

HG nodded her head.

"Okay, but I still don't understand why we're standing here in this time deferential field?"

HG continued on with her explanation of the artifact, knowing that she was about to catch on soon, "Once the field is broken everything that was in it, falls back into normal time, and for some reason when this process occurs, everything is as it was, it is if whatever happened in the bubble never happened. The field inhabitants don't remember their time in it, and their physical bodies and items they brought in with them, look and feel as they did before."

"What?" Myka asked in aggravation, "then what is the point?"

"There was one thing that remained; the students could indeed fight better. It was as if there muscle memory remembered what no other part of their brains could."

"So What?" Myka barked, "What is the point of this HG? You wanna spar with me or something?"

"No Myka," her voice was almost in a plead, "There are things that need to be communicated between us, I have things to say to you but I can't tell you out there." She gestured to the door of her room which fell outside of the energy dome.

"What? You mean, you can't tell me where it actually counts?" she was furious and hurt by her explanation. "I don't think so HG, I don't want to hear it if it doesn't matter in the real world, there's no point." She began to move towards her door, hopping that she could just walk out of the bubble.

HG side stepped in front of her, blocking her way out, "Wait Myka please," she begged putting her hands out to stop her, "Maybe it won't be pointless, maybe the universe will somehow know and it will count for something." She locked eyes with Myka as she pleaded with her. Myka finally dropped her head and nodded it in defeat as she backed away giving the other agent some more room.

"Okay, lets hear it," she calmly moved to the little table in front of her reading chair and sat down on it, looking at HG.

HG let out a long exhalation of air as she started to fidget a bit. She was terrified even though she knew that she was in a place of no repercussions, but it didn't matter much to her at that moment, she was still being eyed by Myka in the here and now. She opened her mouth about to start but closed it before she got a sound out. She ran her fingers through her hair right before bursting out, "I'm going to destroy the world Myka!" She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the look that would pursue after that confession.

"What?" Myka didn't yell but just sounded confused, "What the heck does that mean?"

HG opened her eyes to look at her, "It means I have a plan in motion that will bring _the_ _Minoan Trident _into my possession and allow me to bring on the next ice age, which will in turn kill almost everyone on the planet."

"What?" this time Myka barked with emotions of confusion and betrayal whilst standing to her feet, "Why would you even… I don't understand… Do you really hate the world that much…"

"I don't know," HG cut her off as she ran her hands through her hair once again making her way to the edge of Myka's bed as she slumped down dropping her head in her lap.

Myka walked calmly to stand in front of her, eyes filled with tears, "Do you hate _me_ that much?"

HG lifted her head instantaneously looking into her eyes as she gasped, "No." It had been the easiest question that she had answered in over a hundred years. "Myka you have to stop me."

"How? You've already said that you won't tell me out there," she gestured to the door, "how can I possibly stop you?" her voice was stronger then she had thought I'd be.

"You're the only person who can Myka, don't you get it? You're the only one," her eyes fell again to her lap as a tear escaped, running down her cheek.

Myka looked down to her hero, broken in front of her begging for her to save her. She let out a sigh of total defeat, there was no point trying to fight off her surrender to this woman. She knelt in front of her as she brought HG's face up with her hands cupping her cheeks, looking her in the eyes, "You need to promise me something, you have to promise me that _you_ will let _me_ stop you, because I can't do it without your help."

"But what if I promise you now, but when the star falls, so will this, _us_. What if it falls along with my pledge to you?"

"It won't Helena, It won't. You have to trust me on this," She shook HG's head a little in her grasp trying to shake her belief into it as well.

HG slid her hands around her neck slipping her locket over her head, where Myka moved her hands out of the way for her. She then put the locket over Myka's head letting it rest around her neck and over her hair, not bothering to pull it out from underneath, "I trust you Myka, more then I've trusted anyone in my life." Myka's eyes were pooling. "I promise that I will not let any harm come to you my dear, sweet Myka."

The Shuriken started to spin at an angle, slowly falling horizontally.

Myka's whole body was shaking from all the emotion flowing through it, she kept her eyes on HG as she spoke softly, "I trust you too Helena." Her gaze then fell to HG's waist where she placed her hands on it and ever so gently pulled the woman off the edge of her bed and on to her lap; they were both on their knees, with HG straddling whilst resting her weight on Myka's bent legs. Myka didn't look into HG's gaze that she had felt on her; instead she only looked to her hand that was busy pushing HG's raven strands leisurely behind her ears, and then sweeping them off of her neck behind her shoulders. Myka didn't know why she was doing that, she was just letting her body take over, for once in her life she wasn't thinking, she was just doing. When her hand was done its task she brought it up to cup the other woman's chin, as she finally brought her eyes to hers. HG's orbs stared into hers with such intensity, the woman atop of her slowly brought her hand up to Myka's that lay on her face and removed it, bringing it down to Myka's side and letting go. Myka's heart broke at that instance, but she never let her gaze fall from HG's. The older agent just stared her down, as Myka's eyes begged for her to say something, do something, anything, but she didn't she just pierced her soul with those dark eyes of hers. Water began pooling in Myka's eyes in desperation, after a moment, that felt like a life time, her eyes started to leak heavily down her cheeks, as they gradually turned into waterfalls, HG didn't even flinch to her pain, she just bore her eye's deeper into hers. Myka started to lift her hands to her face wanting to wipe her tears away, when HG's hands lunged forward grasping her wrists tightly bringing them down in front of her, stopping her from lifting them. Myka's whole body started to shake more aggressively in a sob at her action, she rapidly blinked her eyes trying to see straight; all she saw now was a set of hazy eyes, through her tears, still staring at her. Finally Myka closed her eyes after they had become too heavy to keep open, almost instantaneously after shutting her lids, she felt her hands being released as a set of lips crashed into her own. Myka reciprocated the kiss right away, as if HG's mouth was oxygen to her suffocating soul. HG's hands found their way up to the back of Myka's neck, fingers threading through her curls. Myka wrapped her arms around HG's waist, sliding her further up her lap, letting her body collide into her own. HG's tongue begged entry into Myka's mouth where she granted it with a pleasurable moan. HG rose a bit on her knees pushing her body tighter into Myka's as she guided her head up in her hands gaining a few centimeters over her.

HG kissed her with so much need. She needed the goodness and purity that Myka had an abundance of, she needed her guardian angel, her savior, her angelic Myka.

One of the centre blades of the Shuriken clipped the shelf as it fell; now throwing the weapon off balance stopping the spin, it slowly started to topple.

Myka slipped her hands under HG's shirt as she swept her fingers slowly up her bare back gently caressing her skin, HG groaned to her touch. For the first time Myka wasn't thinking about how HG and she were both women, she wasn't thinking of labels or sexual orientations, the only thing that she knew in her heart was that she had never felt this way about anybody in her life, not even for Sam. Myka's stomach _hurt_, from the intensity of flips it was doing.

The Shuriken was now millimeters from crashing into the surface.

The two women refused to take a breath, not wanting to waist what little time they had left, there was no desire in ether of them to cease their action. Finally HG found the strength to break away only in desperate need to tell Myka something, she held her shoulders tight as she looked into her emerald eye, "Myka I…"

'_Cling!' _The Shuriken fell flat on the shelf.

HG closed Myka's door behind her, after entering the room, as she took out the Shuriken that she was concealing behind her back. HG reached to a nearby shelf and placed the throwing star, about to give it a good spin, where she stopped once noticing it no longer glowed the sunset orange it had just seconds ago…


	12. Make Up Lecture

Make-Up Lecture

HG closed Myka's door behind her, after entering the room, as she took out the Shuriken that she was concealing behind her back. HG reached to a nearby shelf and placed the throwing star, about to give it a good spin, where she stopped once noticing it no longer glowed the sunset orange it had just seconds ago, she squinted at it with question as she whipped her head to see the sun just slipping away completely over the horizon, through the window. Did she miss her window of opportunity to use the artifact or did she_ already _use it? She pondered to herself as she looked back to the dull rusty star in her hand. Taking a deep breath though her nose and letting it out through her mouth with a sigh, she slid the artifact into the back of her pants and under her shirt like it had been before.

She walked towards Myka, almost timidly, as she clasped her hands in front of her stopping at the table that sat separating them. Myka didn't look up from her book, but HG could see her body tensing as she approached. "So, you're not joining us for the film then?" she asked not really knowing what to say, she hadn't thought past using the artifact when she entered the room, and now that the star was not in use, she was a bit lost as what to say.

"I'm busy," she spoke stoically not taking her eyes off her page.

"Yes, I can see that," HG responded in a similar tone, thoughts still half on whether she had indeed used the artifact or not, and if she had, what had she actually managed to tell the other woman.

HG remained in her spot for a good minute or two, watching Myka. The corners of HG's lips started to curl up unconsciously as she took in the beautiful sight in front of her. Myka sat with her legs bent, hugging them to her chest as her one hand held her beaten-leather-bound novel. The light from the lit fireplace bounced off her face as she was turned sideways in her chair exposing half of her body to the hearth. Even when Myka was giving her the cold shoulder she could still take HG's breath away, but it wasn't just her physical beauty, it was something much deeper then that. There was something different about her in that moment. HG desperately needed to look into the woman's eyes, she some how knew that if she could just see them, they would tell her what she needed to know. Not that she knew what that was, but there was something she urgently search for and she knew it would all be revealed if she could just look into those perfect emeralds of hers.

HG moved to the other side of the table sitting down on it, right in front of Myka. She placed her hand on the brunette's leg, just under the lower arm that was wrapped around her knees. Myka flinched to her touch but didn't break away from it. "Myka?" HG spoke calmly as she started to rub her thumb gently over her leg. Myka shut her eyes and after a lingering moment of keeping them closed she raised her head from her book, and ever so slowly opened them to look at her. HG's heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with her. Myka's gaze wasn't cold or sad like it had been for the last few days; instead it was soft and warm, almost trusting.

"Yeah?" she asked softly in sheer emotional exhaustion. She was shocked as she noticed HG's eyes starting to moisten. Myka waited awhile for HG to say something, but she didn't she just weakly stared into her eyes as a tear escaped running down her cheek. Myka shut her book and threw it behind her as she quickly brought her legs down to the rest her feet on the ground before she leaned into HG, enveloping her into a hug.

HG let out a huge sigh with a smile, almost letting it escape as a laugh, as she threw her arms around Myka's neck burrowing her face into her sweetly scented hair. Both Myka and HG let their bodies relax into the others, as they desperately needed each other's contact. HG finally lifted her face out of Myka's curls, but still keeping it on her shoulder, as she began, "Myka, I am so sorry for everything, I…"

"No," Myka shook her head, "no, I don't need to hear it, I don't care anymore," Myka squeezed her grip tighter around her.

A few more tears ran down HG's face in hearing her words. She brought one of her hands to the younger agent's neck wanting to thread her fingers through her curls, but just as she slid her digits into her hair she felt something, she slid her head a short distance away from Myka's and down her shoulder, as her eyes fell on a gold chain around her neck and over top of her longer layers of hair. Her eyes grew as she knew the chain and what it belonged to. _'But how?'_ HG mouthed to herself. She thought on the last time she had seen her locket, she remembered playing with it at dinner that evening, but she had not come into contact with the other woman since then. _'The Shuriken,' _she thought. She _had _indeed used it. But she didn't understand how her necklace was not where she had left it before using the artifact. _'The Holy Grail! It passed through the Grail. That must be it. It must have given the locket an ability to exist in alternate time frames,'_ she rationalized an explanation. She knew that if Myka was wearing her necklace, something must have gone well; she didn't know what, but something. That's all HG needed to know at that moment as she enveloped Myka's head in her arms bringing the younger woman into her closer and tighter. "Oh, my dear sweet Myka," her voice was muffled as she talked into Myka's hair. Myka let out a little giggle towards her, it wasn't a laugh provoked by humor, but of relief and joy.

After a happy little moment of them basking in comfort, HG slowly moved her hands to the back of Myka's neck where the clasp of her locket lay. She wanted to undo it without Myka noticing, the last thing she needed to do was have to try and explain to her how and why it was there. She ever so carefully unhinged it and held the two ends in ether hands, contemplating how to remove it with out her discovering it. She decided to just let the ends go and allow it to fall to the ground in hopes that she would just assume it fell from HG's neck, not her own.

'_Cling!'_ the pendant hit the ground in between the two women. "What was that?" Myka pulled away from HG, but as she did her hands grazed one of the points of the shuriken. "Ow," Myka pulled her hand to her face to inspect it. Bright red blood started to ooze out from a small cut on her finger, "what, you caring a blade back there?" she asked with a smirk not even pretending to be surprised that she would be carrying a weapon on her persons at all times.

"Yes, I'm sorry," HG felt guilty for letting Myka get hurt. Without a second thought the Victorian inventor grabbed her injured hand into her own and slipped her bloody finger inside her mouth, sucking the blood away. She saw Myka's eyes grow in shock towards her actions, where HG then realized what she had just done. She slowly took her finger out of her mouth then covered her cut with one of her own fingers to stop the bleeding. "Sorry, I guess old motherly habits die hard," she smiled sheepishly.

Myka started to blush as she stammered, "N-no, it's fine, really." Her eyes grew as she tilted her head awkwardly to the side. She quickly looked to the ground needing to break eye contact with her. She caught sight of the forgotten necklace; she brought her other hand, that wasn't in HG's grasp, down to pick it up. "Your locket," she handed it to HG's free hand.

"Thank you darling," She looked up to her and smiled where she received one in return. "Do you have any bandages?" she let her gaze fall back to the finger.

"Ah, yeah, in my bathroom." HG started to get up where she stopped her, "It's okay, I can get it." She slid her finger where HG's had just been, to keep the pressure on the wound, and stood up, "besides, you have to go downstairs to make sure we get the couch, 'cause knowing Pete, he'll want it to sprawl out on." HG's face broke into a huge grin as her eyes sparkled, Myka let out a little giggle at her as she walked away vanishing into her bathroom. HG got up quickly making her way out of the room whilst putting her locket back around her neck.

Before heading downstairs HG entered her own room. She made sure her door was closed and locked before going to the side of her bed; there she fell to her knees as she pulled out a box from underneath. She opened the box to reveal a white vest with black trim and buttons, which lay covering the bottom of the box. There was also a metal compact resting on top of it that had the initials L.A.B. engraved on it. Next to the compact sat a small dusted rose jewelry box. HG picked up the box and flipped it open to reveal loose tea leaves. They belonged to the late James Tilly Mattews a former London tea broker during the 1790's. He was considered to be the first recorded paranoid schizophrenic. It was a Warehouse 12 agent which whom discovered that one of his teas, that he only reserved for himself, was actually the thing causing his extreme delusions that were thought, by the doctors at Bethlem Royal Hospital, to be set off by paranoia.

HG had intended to send these tea leaves to the Univille café in the hopes of distracting Myka when the time came for her to use the _Minoan Trident_ knowing that she would be the one to go with Pete having his hands full with Kelly and the compact. She stood up, still looking into the box in hand, as she headed into her bathroom; she flicked on the lights and stopped in front of her toilet. Without a moment to lose she dumped the tea leaves into the bowl, shaking it hard so that every last bit fell out into the water. She let the corners of her lips curl up as she flushed the toilet, "I might as well give myself a bit of a challenge," she almost laughed as she watched part of her plan swirling down the drain; disappearing forever. She walked out of her washroom and back to her spot on the floor as she put the, now empty, jewelry box along with the shuriken, in with the other artifacts closing them away for another day. She got up and shoved the box back under her bed with her foot, almost in a burst of triumph, as she exited her room.

Just as HG opened her door, Myka was closing hers. "Hey, I thought you were going to go claim the couch?" Myka smiled at her.

"I was just on my way. I had something important to see to first."

Myka squinted her eyes and cocked her head, "something important?"

"Yes," she smiled.

"You're not going to tell me what it was, are you?"

HG just shook her head with a cheeky smile.

Myka laughed, "You, Helena G. Wells, are ever the mystery."

HG looked at her, eyes sparkling with joy, as she took pleasure in hearing Myka's beautiful laugh whilst she said her full name. "Shall we then?" HG lifted her bent arm to her in a very gentlemanly manner.

Myka shook her head at her with a crooked smile as she linked arms with hers," lead the way my good… Madam." HG gave her a little nod and bow before starting off. Myka let out another burst of giggles as she gave her a light, playful hip check. She then received a chuckle in return from her chaperone; and with that they walked down the stairs together.

Just as they reached the bottom step Claudia walked into the foyer in search for HG, for that they were just about ready to start the movie. The teen abruptly stopped to the sight of them, linked arms and smiling. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. HG gently reached out to push the young women's jaw shut whilst smiling, "Claudia darling, if you keep that open too long, you're going to catch flies."

"You guys," she pointed back and forth between the two of them, "You like totally made up, didn't you?" She cocked her head to the side, giving them a glare that said Claudia-knows-all.

HG looked to Myka letting her smirk turn into a grin.

"Oh snap! Myka and HG, besties forever!" she cheered, and then grinned when noticing Myka's face turning bright red. "K, come on you guys; we have some serious movie watching to do." She grabbed Myka's free arm and dragged them both into the common room.

Claudia let go of them as she went to sit on the far chair at the end, which sat next to the couch, Leena was already sitting in the chair opposite of it on the other side of the coffee table. Pete was sprawled out on the sofa, just as Myka had predicted, his head next to Claudia's seat.

It was now Myka's turn to drag HG to stand in front of him, "Move," she instructed without any underlining emotion attached to it.

"Hey Myks!" he said surprised with a smile as she and HG hovered over him. He noted that they must have made up and was truly grateful for it, but he didn't let that emotion drive him to move for them. "Umm….. No" he grinned cheekily at them, "If you're late to the party, you don't get the good seats."

Myka crossed her arms and scowled at him, "If you don't move, I'm gonna sit on you."

"Sit on him Myka," Claudia cheered her on.

"Big deal, you weigh like a feather," he said. Myka eyed him and smirked as she sat on the side of his torso. "See this is nothing". Myka wiggled a bit in her seat, "Ah, boney butt! Boney butt!"

"Move!" she whined like a little kid.

"Na-ah," Pete shook his head.

"Dud, when you sit on him, you don't just gently park yourself down, you…" Claudia ripped herself out of her seat and lunged on his ribs whilst yelling, "Dive on him!"

"Ah!" Pete hollered as she fell on him, he kicking his bent legs in front of him almost knocking the popcorn bowl off the table.

HG took that opportunity to slip her butt down on the end cushion of the couch where his feet were previously laying. "Oh, HG snatched your foot spot!" Claudia cheered.

"Not fair, three against one. Leena help!" Pete called out to the woman just silently watching them with a smirk on her face.

"I don't know Pete, it looks to me that you're doing just fine," she almost laughed as she spoke.

"Hey Myka," Claudia grabbed her arm, "Wiggle!" Claudia started to move her butt, where Myka followed.

"Ah okay, okay uncle!" He cried out.

They stopped their movements. "So you'll move then?" Myka asked.

"Yeah, yeah."

Claudia bounced off him and planted herself back into her chair. Myka then stood up and waited for him to move, but all he did was pull his legs into himself tighter, only leaving the cushion that HG was already sitting on and half of the centre one. "Pete, come one, can you just sit up?" Myka asked.

"What? Why? There's enough room for you guys there."

"You only left us…Ah!" she yelled as Pete scissor grabbed her legs with his own pulling her down to the couch, as she landed on her one hip, facing HG as her upper leg fell across her lap. He then rested his legs pressing them up against her butt, not giving her room to budge.

"Pete!" she growled.

"See you fit," he smiled at her, but she didn't see it, due to her face resting on HG's shoulder.

"How is this fitting?" she punched his leg behind her.

"Ow!"

Myka looked up to a smirking HG, "Sorry for this violation," she started to squeeze her way out and up as she moved her leg off of HG's lap, "I'll just get a chair out of the sunroo…" HG snatched the other woman's leg back into her lap as she was halfway out, falling back into her same spot, "…m Ah!"

"Pete's right darling, you fit perfectly right here," HG smiled mischievously at her. "Besides, you have my full permission to violate me at any time you feel fit to." She gave her a playful wink.

"Oh HG, puttn' on the moves," Claudia laughed. Myka blushed, where unfortunately the teen had seen, "Oh Myka's face is turning red," she pointed excitingly.

Myka threw her hands over her crimson features as she let her head fall to HG's shoulder, hiding it from everybody.

Leena took pity on the women as she suggested, "Perhaps we should start the movie."

"Sure," Pete agreed as he searched for the remote, "hey Claud do have the clicker?"

"Clicker? What are ya fifty or something?" She picked up the remote from beside her and pressed play on the menu screen.

"That's what my mom always called it," he said in his defense.

"Yeah Pete, that's my point."

HG looked down at Myka, still half in her lap, the older agents hand was still grasped on Myka's leg where she had pulled her down from. The brunette still hid her face in her hands resting on HG's shoulder. HG scotched her arm that was half under Myka's hip out from beneath her as she brought it up to rest on her back, letting her hand fall onto her favorite curls, as she began playing with them, "Myka," she bent her head down to the top of her friend's, "You going to come out of hiding there?" The American agent just shook her head. "You're going to miss the movie."

Myka let her hands fall off her face as she rested one around HG's torso as the other fell palm-up on her lap, "As long as I can hear it, I'm good," she smiled, leaving her head to rest on the older woman's body.

_A young British female's voice emanated from the TV "Farm boy. Polish my horse's saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning."_

_A young British male's voice replied, "As you wish."_

_"As you wish" was all he ever said to her." An older North American male voice said in narration to the story._

"_Farm Boy. Fill these with water –"the same female voce asked, "-please."_

"_As you wish," was repeated again from the same man._

_The older narrator stated, "That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, "As you wish," what he meant was, "I love you."_

HG's attention was pulled out from the movie as she felt Myka slip her locket out from under her shirt as she gazed upon it in her hands. She watched the brunette slide her fingers lightly over the object, caressing it's every bump and ridge, turning it over and over in her hands as she was twisting the chain still around the Victorian's neck. After a couple minutes she slid her thumb nail between the panels, about to pop it open, but once again she failed to follow through, so she decided to put it back under HG's shirt. Just as she was about to drop it down her blouse HG grasped her hand holding the necklace, "All you have to do is ask darling," she whispered ever so quietly into Myka's ear.

Myka looked up to meet her gaze as she started, "Do you mind… I mean can I, I mean, may I…"

HG took the locket out of her hand and opened it, handing it back to her. "As you wish," She locked eyes with her for a moment and smiled before she looked back up to the screen.

Myka kept her eye's on her a bit longer, wondering it she had said those words intentionally or not, and if she did, if she actually meant them. She finally let her eyes fall to the, now open locket, in her hand. She looked at HG's little girl, smiling at her. She was beautiful, just like her mother, she thought as she caressed the photo lovingly, as if Christina were her own. Myka started to tear as she contemplated on how the girl's death must have torn her dear friend's heart apart. Myka quickly wiped her eyes as she closed the locket and tucked it back under HG's shirt whilst quickly planting a kiss on her neck, before resting her head back on her shoulder and throwing her arm back around the other woman's body.

After seeing how her daughter's picture had affected her, HG pulled the woman in closer as she rested her cheek on the top of her head but not before giving her a lingering kiss on her scalp, right at the base of her favorite curl, loving her that much more for caring so deeply.

They all watched the movie through to the end, with laughter here and there. Except for Myka, who had fallen asleep in HG's arms at about the halfway point. After the movie had ended Claudia and Pete went up to his room to play a Left 4 Dead 2 campaign. Leena had decided to hit the hay early due to her being so tiered, but before she had left she threw a blanket over Myka, who was now half awake due to the commotion created by everyone leaving.

HG and Myka were the only two left, as they sat in the, now dark, common room. HG could hear the second hand on the clock ticking, which always reminded her of home. She then looked down to Myka is her arms, not ever wanting to leave her spot there with her, but she felt obligated to ask, "Shall we retire to our beds now?"

Myka turned a bit in her arms as she brought her blanket up to HG's shoulders, in her own variation of tucking her in, as she murmured, "As you wish."

A smile spread across HG's face as she snuggled closer into Myka and let her eyes close. They didn't have to wait long for the sandman to visit and sprinkle his magical dust over them, bringing them sweet dreams of each other.

…

"Hey HG," A female voice spoke softly in attempts of waking her. "HG? Yo! Where'd you put my MP3 player?" In hearing that HG fluttered her eyes open to find herself still in the dark common room with Myka, but with an additional Claudia hovering over them. Myka stirred in her arms obviously waking a bit to the girl's interruption. "Oh, dude, don't tell me you left it out of phase."

HG's eye's grew in realization, "oops…"

"Ah man!"…

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Rate Your Professor

So this is the last chapter, I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanted to apologize for all my spelling/grammatical errors, I don't have a Beta, and I suck at self editing… eek

I want to thank every one of you for reading, and an even more special thanks to you guys who took the time to review. A few shout outs to:

Potentialslayer1- You're my favorite girl, and you know why ;)

KJay99- I love your critical eye, and those always turning gears in that head of yours.

LOCISVU- I think you may be a cyborg with FanFic directly connected to your brain, 'cause you are a lightning fast reviewer, I frackn' love it

nightterror56 & Insane. certifiably - Always a pleasure.

Indianna & North- Why are you two not members? Lol I appreciated your reviews, thanks

kdip4014- I hope you're okay with how this story ended… HG is still gonna attempt to end the world.

And to everyone ells, thanks: teriyakiskater, Aynot, IcedRoses, Just twist, Avarenda, and anybody ells that I may have missed.


	13. Graduation Day… too bad they failed

_A/N_ Yeah, yeah, I know I said that the last chapter was the last chapter but _North_ suggested that I write an epilogue starting after the Yellowstone scene, so I did.

If you guys don't like it, or you think it's just way too out there, please let me know… I'm really not sure on this one. So if you guys tell me it sucks, I'll pull it and we'll all pretend like it never happened ;)

* * *

Epilogue

Graduation Day… too bad they failed

There Myka stood at the ridge in Yellowstone, with The _Minoan Trident_ tightly in her grasp, on one side of her was a injured Artie, suffering from a gun shot wound, and to her other side sat a sobbing HG Wells. The young agent's thoughts were whorl-winding through her head; she had to make a choice, who to go to first; she took a few deep breaths as she tried to compose herself, letting her professional instincts kick in. She spun to face Artie as she went to him, resting the trident behind him, as she knelt down to asses his injury. He kept his eyes on the sobbing woman not even three meters away.

"Artie, are you okay?" She asked eyes filled with emotion, as she moved his jacket away, to get a better look.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he waved her hands away in his attempts of proving his invincibility that he always claimed of possessing. "Can you do me a favor though? Can you reach into my coat pocket and hand me my Farnsworth?" She complied and got it out for him. He took it and flipped it open, "now go cuff her," he gestured to HG with his head, "And make sure she doesn't try anything. I'm going to call the chopper back where you are going to go meet it, and guide them back here, okay?" He only glanced at Myka for a brief moment, not wanting to take his eyes off HG, who was still looking down, hands covering her face, as she wept. Myka just blankly nodded as she stood up and turned towards the broken woman, "Myka," Artie spoke to her back, where she turned to see him, "bring her with you, I don't want her taking advantage of this," he pointed to his wounded shoulder. Myka gulped and nodded, she was hoping that he wasn't going to say that, she turned back to HG, as Artie began calling for their pick-up.

Myka stopped in front of the woman trying desperately to push all her emotions away. She waited a few seconds for the Victorian to lift her head up to her, but when she didn't Myka spoke sternly, "HG" but there was no response, she kept her face hidden from the hovering woman. "HG!" she demanded harshly this time, letting her anger seep through, but the woman still didn't respond. Myka whipped out her handcuffs as she went around to her back and down on one knee about to grab her wrists from behind and shackle her, but as she extended her hands she noticed them shaking; she stopped her abrupt movements as she lightly placed her cuffs on the ground, deciding to go through the process more gently. She hated herself for letting her sympathy over shine her anger. She slowly brought her hands around HG softly placing them on the other woman's forearms, where HG allowed her body to lean into Myka's, the younger agent lightly slid her hands over her arms until she got to her wrists, effortlessly puling them away from her face, and then leisurely to her back, where HG put up a bit of a challenge for Myka when trying to separate their two bodies from each other to bring her hands together. Myka, taking her time, picked up the cuffs and gently clamped them around her wrists.

"Okay their E.T.A. is ten minutes Myka," Artie called to her whilst flipping his Farnsworth shut with only his one hand, as he made a circular motion with his wrist.

Myka turned to him, where his gaze allowed her sense of duty, that she felt slowly slipping away, return to her, and with that she stood up while hoisting HG along with her, "we'll be there," Myka spoke in her best professional voice that she could muster up at that moment. Myka pushed HG into a walk as they started to head out.

"Myka," Artie called. Myka stopped them both as she turned to him, "Watch her like a hawk," he said sternly making it an order. Myka just gave him a nod and started them off again.

After several minutes of the girls walking in silence through a path in the forest, HG, who was still in front of Myka about a meter away, stopped abruptly. Myka almost ran into her as she halted merely a centimeter from her. "Myka," HG spoke with purpose as she turned her head to see her.

"No!" Myka spat, "I'm not talking to you," she shoved her forward, "lets move."

HG took a lunging step forward and spun around to meet her gaze, "No," she demanded, "I am not leaving this spot until we talk."

"Oh really?" Myka almost laughed, "fine stay here." She brushed past her and continued walking up the path.

"What? What are you doing? You can't leave me here; I believe Artie's exact words were for you to watch me like a hawk." She called out to the back of Myka's head in confusion.

Myka stopped and whirled around, "Do you really think I care?" she spat, "'cause I don't, _I do not care anymore_, I am tiered of caring. You know what HG? You wanna go back and finish the job with the trident, be my guest. You wanna go run away and save your evil scheming for anther day, fine, go ahead. You wanna just sit your ass down right here and rot away into a heap of nothing, do it. _I don't care!_ I am so done with you and with this stupid job and this stupid life that you single handedly destroyed."

HG's eyes were filling with tears, "Myka please…"

"No!" Myka shouted while pointing a finger at her, "You shut up! I don't want to hear a word from you, I hate you." A tear escaped and ran down Myka's cheek, "I hate you Helena G. Wells,_ I_ _hate_ you!," she said that last bit through clenched teeth, "You used me, pretended to be my friend, and then threw me away like garbage in your own stupid game to end the world."

HG's eyes were leaking tears heavily down her face as her heart was being torn apart by her powerful words of loathing. "Myka!" HG yelled through her tears, trying desperately to negate her words.

"Shut up!" Myka yelled louder, "Just shut up Helena!" HG closed her eyes trying to stop her tears, she hated how Myka had used her first name like that, her first name used to be reserved as an endearment from Myka's lips, but now it was a weapon that only Myka could yield properly for a death strike. "You are an evil conniving woman who can rot in Hell for all I care." With that Myka turned away and walked up the path quickly leaving her behind.

HG growled in exasperation as she stomped her foot. She was well aware that Myka knew she would follow behind her to the designated drop location, but she hated that the young agent could call her bluff. HG quickly picked her way out of her handcuffs and shoved them into her jacket pocket before running after Myka. She caught site of her after a short jog, when she did she fell into a sprint. Myka turned her head in hearing her approach where she too pushed herself into a run, but she didn't have enough time to gain speed before HG lunged onto her back, dragging them both down to the dirt.

"Get off of me!" Myka hollered as she rolled over onto her back. HG straddled her body on her knees as she lunged forwards capturing Myka's hands above her head.

"Don't make me cuff you Myka," HG warned her.

Myka just huffed, not taking surprise that she had gotten out of her shackles. HG's face was hovering dangerously close to Myka's, but the agent underneath kept her head turned to the side, not wanting to catch HG's dark eyes. They both relaxed a bit as their breathing calmed. HG slowly let go of Myka's wrists, where she was surprised when the other woman didn't move them to their new found freedom, she just let them lay. HG slowly moved her hands to Myka's face gently sweeping her fingers over her cheeks letting them rest on either side of her head, moving it gently to face her. Their eyes locked where Myka looked drained as she took a few calm breaths before responding with a weary tone, "I can't do this anymore Helena, I just can't do any of this anymore." A tear streamed down HG's face for her dear friend, she didn't quite know what she was talking about, but she could see her broken spirit and it killed her knowing that she was the cause of it. Myka slowly brought her hand to HG's face as she wiped her tear away with her thumb. "I really do hate you Helena," she said almost warmly with a slight smirk. HG was now truly confused ether she was completely off her rocker, or Myka was, or possibly they were both a little mentally unhinged at this point.

"Myka, I truly am sorry for everything," HG started to stroke her finger tips through the brunette's tide back hair. "I want to tell you that you are the most important person in the world to me, but with my previous actions of trying to destroy it, I don't think that that sentiment would bare much weight."

"And that's not even touching on the fact that you only know like ten people in this world," Myka added stoically.

"Right," HG's voice fell into a gloomy tone. "So I guess there is no other option then to tell you this," she leaned into Myka and planted a lingering kiss on her forehead, in the precise spot where she had held the barrel of the gun to. She ever so slowly raised her lips from her, but only by a millimeter of two, as she spoke gently whilst stroking her thumbs over the woman's temples, "I love you Myka Bering."

Myka started to shake her head whilst almost whining, "No, no, no, don't say that, take it back." HG allowed her hands on ether side of her head to tighten as she tried to stop her shaking head. "Take it back Helena," she demanded in tears, "it's not true, so just take it back."

"I will not take it back Myka, It's the only thing that both my head and my heart agree on, I will never take it back, I couldn't if I tried."

"No!" Myka screamed as if her life-force were being sucked out of her, whilst she flipped HG onto her back turning the position on her, Myka now the one on top. She clutched HG's shoulders; shaking her hard against the ground, "Why would you tell me that? Why? She yelled through tears, "stop messing with me, just stop!" HG snatched Myka's wrists in her grasp as she brought them up and turned them back over, so HG was once again on top holding Myka's hands prisoner above their heads on the ground, where she wasted no time thrusting her lips to Myka's. The younger agent squirmed under her, but HG held tight, not letting her escaped. After a few seconds the brunette started to relax a bit beneath her, where HG slowly released her hands and lips, but just as she let her hands free, Myka promptly grabbed the back of HG's neck and pushed her head back down to capture her lips in her own once again.

HG's warm mouth felt so heavenly familiar to her, it was as if this woman had claimed Myka's own lips long ago and already had full rights to them. Myka slowly pulled HG away, just far enough that she could look her in the eyes, "Helena, if you're playing me right now, I swear that I will kill y…" HG cut her off by crashing her lips back to hers, this time with more force as she took advantage of Myka's mouth being open in mid-speech; slipped her tongue inside. Myka dug her fingernails into the back of HG's neck in a response to the surprise entry.

HG was grateful for Myka's aggressive grip on her body, for that in that little moment she _could feel_, she could feel pain, she could feel pleasure, she could feel remorse, and most importantly, she could feel love. HG finally pulled away, as they both gasped for air, letting her forehead drop to Myka's, both women kept their eyes shut; knowing that when they opened them, the real world would be there waiting. "I have never lied to you Myka. What I said, I whole heartedly intended."

In the distance they could hear a helicopter approaching the drop sight, which was not far up the path from them. Both women looked up to catch the view of the chopper in the air between the tree tops. "Damn it," Myka cursed as she grabbed HG's ponytail tie and slid it out of her hair, letting it fall like curtains around them, in a desperate attempt to shut out the world. She then started to comb her fingers through her raven locks.

"Myka darling, we have to go now. It's time for you to deliver me to my much deserved fate," she said sorrowfully. Myka's eyes began to tear towards her words, she didn't want to go, why should she have to? "Myka" HG repeated as the other woman continued to comb the cobalt strands not looking up at her. HG gently took one of her hands to Myka's busy one as she pushed their palms together and intertwined their fingers. "Myka," HG asked, still in a calm manner, but this time the brunette looked at her, "It's time." Myka let out a sigh before nodding her head, with that HG gave her a little smile and got up whilst pulling Myka vertical with her.

The Victorian let go of Myka's hand as she reached into her jacket pocket to take out the handcuffs. She then clamped one around her one wrist as she put her hands out to Myka for her to do the other. The American slowly took the other cuff and allowed HG to turn around as she ever so gently cuffed her other hand. "Thank you darling," HG smiled at her after spinning around.

Myka quickly looked away, about to scream at her. She was shackling her and delivering her to a fate that was most likely going to be worse then death, and she was thanking her. HG walked past her heading for the clearing, where she stopped and turned, "Myka if we ever see each other again, will we be friends or enemies?" HG asked timidly, as if the answer were the most important thing in the universe.

"I don't think there's a point of trying to put a label on what we are," she answered deep in contemplation.

"So, I guess the better question would be; will you try to kill me if we ever meet again?"

"I guess that would depend on if my anger towards you was in check at that particular moment or not," she told her with a half smirk, but still baring cold eyes, as to say she was completely serious in her response.

HG just gave her quick nod and turned, hiding a tear that had just escape, as she made haste towards the clearing where Myka was forced to follow after; tucking herself closely behind as they reached the end of the path.

There sat a helicopter, blades still turning, with a stoic Mrs. Fredrick standing outside of it, along with a couple large agents in black attire and a two manned medical team in red. The agents quickly made their way over, where Myka grabbed HG's hand tightly, "it's all right darling," she squeezed her hand as she turned her head to Myka, "Thank you for saving me, my dear Myka." Just as her words fell from her lips, the two agents grabbed her firmly by the forearms and pushed her towards the chopper, as the girls hands slipped apart from each other. They took her to the door and threw her in after giving her a full pat down, one of the agents took something out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Mrs. Fredrick where she then approached Myka with the two medics not far behind her, "Agent Bering you will escort these gentlemen to Arthur?"

"Yes of course."

"You will then go to the vehicle that Ms. Wells has acquired to get here with, and search it for any other potentially dangerous artifacts, where you may then proceed to drive it back to the Warehouse." She ordered in her usual calm manner whilst handing her the keys that were just given to her by the other agent. "Miss. Donovan will contact you with the vehicle's GPS location."

Myka just nodded her head as she turned to lead the way to Artie, "Agent Bering," Mrs. Fredrick called. Myka stopped and turned her head, "good work here." The agent's face didn't react to the complement, for that it actually felt more like a kick to the stomach. She then turned and left with the medics.

Myka was forced to mediate an argument between Artie and the medics; the old agent refused to let them carry him out on their canvas board, where she talked them into breaking protocol and letting him walk. After the three of them disappeared into the bush the young agent took out her cell, where she noticed that Claudia had already texted her the location. She found her heading that followed a service road, and started to run. She had so many emotions flowing through her that she just needed to move, and move fast. She ran, and ran, her head kept playing over HG trying to destroy the world, HG with a gun to her head, HG kissing her, HG confessing her love to her, "Damn it!" Myka huffed angrily as she started to sprint, tears falling heavily down her face as she finally caught site of the SUV. She ran as hard as she could to it, as she collapsed on its hood in heaves of tears as she tried to catch her breath. Why didn't she tell HG that she loved her back? Myka's body completely gave out as she slid to the ground. She hated herself for not telling her, instead she told her that she hated her and that she wished her to rot in Hell. Myka hugged her arms tight around her body as she let her forehead rest on the gravel beneath her. She second guessed herself, she bloody second guessed herself! She was about to tell her, but she stopped herself, scared that if she said it, it would soon be taken away from her, but the fact was that it was always going to be taken away from her no mater what, but now she loathed herself for not saying it before HG was torn away, probably never to be seen again.

After a little time had passed Myka dragged herself up off the ground as she stuck her hand in her pocket to take out the keys, but as she took them out, a gold chain was intertwined in the key's rings. Her lips curled up a bit as she untangled the necklace from the keys, she then unlocked the door of the SUV and sat down in the driver's seat, as she held HG's locket in her hands. The woman must have slipped it into her pocket at some point during their encounter. Myka put her elbows on the steering wheel as she let her head drop to the pendant in hand, pushing hard, letting the piece of jewelry slightly indent her forehead. She held her eyes shut as she spoke quietly, "I love you too Helena." With that realization of her emotions and what they had allowed to happen; permitting the whole world to become at risk, she quickly put the locket around her neck, tucking it into her shirt, as she fumbled around the glove compartment for a pen and paper, when she found both items she began to write;

_Artie,_

_It breaks my heart to write this…_

Once she had composed a full letter of goodbyes to everyone whom she loved at the Warehouse, she folded the paper and threw it on the seat next to her; her face wet in tears. She closed her door, not bothering to check the vehicle for more artifacts like she was ordered to, there was no point, she knew that there wouldn't be any, HG would only bring what she needed, she was to meticulous of a planner to over pack even one item. Myka picked the keys up off her lap and stuck them into the ignition, starting up the SUV and quickly driving off.

She first stopped in at Leena's to pack her things, luckily no one was there to hinder her; she didn't pack everything for that she didn't have the time, nor the energy. She then loaded her belongings into the SUV as she drove towards the Warehouse knowing that that's were everyone would be. She had to deliver her letter and just physically see everyone before she headed out.

When she arrived at the building she noticed Kosan's car and a black Hummer parked out front. Her breath caught in her throat, she knew HG was still there about to be taken away. She gulped as she got out of the vehicle just as Pete and Kosan exited the Warehouse. Myka slowly walked to the door as Kosan gave her a nod of greeting as she stoically walked to Pete stopping beside him, in hopes of using his strength for that her own was practically diminished. The next thing she knew the Warehouse door opened with the same two agents escorting HG out to the Hummer. HG didn't even look at her as she walked by; she just kept her head high as she was pushed into the vehicle.

Damn it, she should have listened to Artie, he knew the writer was dangerous, he knew she wasn't all right in the head. If she would have just listened to him, she wouldn't have allowed herself to fall in love with her. Damn why couldn't she have just trusted Artie instead of her stupid illogical heart? Myka used all the strength left in her body not to cry as the Hummer drove off, she closed her eyes and for a brief moment she found herself lingering on the taste of HG's mouth, _Damn it_, she opened her eyes forcing the thought out of her mind. That woman was going to haunt her for the rest of her life, she just knew it. Damn you HG Wells! Damn you for ruining everything!


End file.
